Tech boys hoop gets even, beats Minuteman in rematch

LYNN – After suffering an overtime defeat to Minuteman earlier this season, the Lynn Tech boys basketball team saw control of the Commonwealth Conference slip from its grasp.On Tuesday at the T. O’Connor Field House, the Tigers and Mustangs met again in what turned out to be another classic.Led by a game-high 33 points from Victor Smith, 21 of which came in the second half, the Tigers moved back into first place in the CAC with a 75-68 win that moved them to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in league play.”It’s a huge win for this team,” Tech coach Marvin Avery said. “The defense really came through at the end and Victor certainly carried us.”After trailing in the early going, the Tigers rallied to take a 35-33 lead at halftime, setting up what turned out to be an entertaining second half.The Mustangs quickly rallied to take a 41-39 midway through the third quarter thanks to solid inside play from John Sissay, who finished with 15 points.Fellow forward Roderick Tyler also was becoming a force on the boards, but Tech sophomore Josh Cheever’s hard work on the glass eventually got Tyler in foul trouble.”People don’t realize that Josh is a sophomore,” Avery said. “He does the little things and really is becoming a leader on this team.”And that’s rare for a sophomore.”Two free throws from the sophomore helped ignite one of the Tigers trademark runs. Smith buried a three from NBA range and when point guard Trey Gallo went to the basket and was fouled, Tech suddenly had a 46-41 lead.Gallo followed moments later with a steal and when Smith canned another three, the Tigers had gone on a 12-0 run to take a 51-41 lead and force a Minuteman timeout.The Mustangs closed the gap to 55-48 at the end of the third quarter before getting back-to-back baskets to get within three at 55-52.But Smith responded with five straight points to give Tech a little bit of breathing room. That proved pivotal when Tyler fouled out with 3:56 left after cutting the lead to five.Greg White picked up the slack for the Mustangs, burying a three with 3:40 to go that shaved the Tech lead to 64-61. But Garrett Fairweather responded with his second three of the night to give Tech a 69-63 lead withj 2:51 left.Josh Baranofsky hit a layup to bring Minuteman within four at the 2:00 mark, but that was as close as the Mustangs could get. Smith hit a driving layup on the next possession to make it a six point game and Cheever’s game-clinching rebound with 20 seconds left led to two Felix Rios free throws that made it 73-66 with 13.3 seconds left.”I think that this showed the kids that they can win close games,” Avery said.”We’ve lost three games like this and we finally were able to pull one out down the stretch,” he said.The Mustangs led throughout the first quarter and a half, holding a 20-17 lead before Cheever and Smith helped spark a 15-3 run that gave Tech a 32-23 lead with 3:15 left in the half.Minuteman responded in the final minutes of the half, closing the second quarter with a 10-3 rush that cut the lead to two at the half.