School roundup: Second-half rally gets Classical past Prep

Despite a nearly superhuman effort from St. John’s Prep’s Pat Connaughton, the Lynn Classical boys basketball team still was able to escape Memorial Gymnasium in Danvers with a 75-69 win over the Eagles.”St. John’s is an exceptional team,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said. “It really is a good win for us.”Connaughton finished the game with 34 points, 24 rebounds and six assists. But it was third-quarter shooting woes that saw the Eagles go from leading 36-32 at the break to trailing 50-44 heading to the fourth quarter.”We missed a lot of easy shots,” Prep coach Sean Connolly said about the third-quarter swoon. “Pat played unbelievable. He did everything for us.”The Rams (6-3) got 19 points from Jasper Grassa, 16 from Cam Smith and 12 from Jarell Byrd, but it was the rest of the cast that got the job done for Classical. Nick Grassa and Jared Fay each finished with 12 to help Classical over the hump.”The other guys really came through,” Grassa said.James Doherty was the only other Prep player to reach double figures, finishing with 12 points.The Lynn English-Everett boys game was postponed due to weather issues. No makeup date was available.SWIMMINGSt. Mary’s 93, Williams 58At Canton, the Spartans (1-1) had a double winner in Emily Olson, who took the 100 breaststroke (1:20.33) and 200 IM (2:32.9). Also winning were Brendan Donovan in the 50 free (28.61); Andrew Mayes, 200 free (2:45.61); Veronica Collard, 100 free (1:14.3) and Dan Beaton, 100 backstroke (1:28.48).Beaton, Olson, Felecia Ruano and Donovan teamed to win the 200 medley relay (2:16.91).Fenwick 95, St. Mary’s 72At the Lynn YMCA, the Spartans (1-2) got solid performances from Donovan (28.44) and Ruano (28.84) in the 50 free but couldn’t come away with an event win.Double winners for Fenwick (1-1) were: Lynner James Black, 200 IM (2:18.31) and 100 breaststroke (1:09.84); and Carling Audette, 50 free (28.58) and 100 free (1:06.15). Single winners for Fenwick were: Candace Ferry, 200 free (2:29.10); Christine Law, 100 butterfly (1:13.09); Lysandra Fiskatoris, 500 free (7:31.91); and Karina Gaft, 100 backstroke (1:47.25). Also winning were the relays in the 200 medley (2:14.41), 200 free (1:51.91), and 400 free (5:11.85).BOYS TRACKSt. John’s at Dartmouth RelaysThe Eagles took second and third place overall in the 400 meters with Chris Crosby (51.87) and Jared Kadich (52.22) doing the honors.