Rams stung by Witches in a thriller

SALEM ? This might have been the most exciting game of the season. Maybe many seasons.Sean Linehan’s layup with nine seconds left lifted the Salem High boys basketball team to a 67-66 win over Lynn Classical, Friday night, at Veterans Memorial Field House at Salem High.The Rams had the last possession, but Cam Smith’s runner from the lane caromed hard off the backboard and Chris Francois’ follow hit the outside edge of the rim.Classical (14-5) rallied from an early 19-2 deficit and led by as many as three points in the last minute, but missed the front end of two critical one-and-ones thereafter.”It’s a tough loss,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said. “To fight our way back like that and then take a three-point lead, it’s tough. We have to make those foul shots.”With Antonio Reyes (pneumonia) in Boston Medical Center, Salem guard Bryan Ortiz turned up his offense for the Witches (13-5) and was nearly unstoppable. Ortiz scored a season-high 35 points and Linehan added 10. Only five players scored for Salem, and just six got into the ballgame.Jasper Grassa paced Classical with 22 points, including a couple of huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, while Jarell Byrd added 18. Cam Smith also broke into double figures with 11 points.Jasper Grassa hit a three from the right wing to give Classical a 65-63 lead with 1:36 left in the game, and after Salem failed to score on its next possession, Francois made one of two free throws after he was hammered in the lane by Derek McIntyre.Salem came up empty on its next trip, and then had to commit three quick fouls to send Jasper Grassa to the foul line with 32.7 seconds left. He shanked the first free throw, though, and Ortiz quickly hit a runner to cut Classical’s lead to 66-65.The Rams got the ball to one of their best free throw shooters on the ensuing in-bounds, but Jared Fay back-rimmed the front end and Salem called timeout with 21.3 seconds left.With everyone in the gym thinking Ortiz would take the shot, the speedy point guard drove to the left of the free throw line and threaded a pretty pass through the lane to Linehan at the right box, and Linehan glassed the ball in.”That’s what makes (Ortiz) such a good player,” Salem coach Tom Doyle said. “He scores 35 points and then he’s unselfish enough to pass the ball for the winning assist.”Classical called timeout in the frontcourt with 4.8 seconds left, but in-bound the ball to either Byrd or Jasper Grassa for an open look and Smith took the ball into the lane for an off-balance shot. Francois’ follow had a better chance of going in, but it was a bit too strong.”It’s a phenomenal win for us,” Doyle said. “To go out to a big lead like we did, give it up and then have enough left to come back and win the game says a lot about the character of our kids.”No one in the building thought the game would go down to the last possession after the Witches, behind 13 straight points by Ortiz, opened up a 19-2 lead just 3:57 into the game. The Rams switched their defense from a box-and-one on Ortiz to a straight man and had better success, and Jasper Grassa sank a couple of 3-pointers in the last minute of the opening quarter to cut Salem’s lead to 24-14.An alley-oop from Jasper Grassa to Byrd got Salem’s lead down to six, but a short jumper by McIntyre made the score 38-30 at halftime.Classical still trailed by four after three quarters, but finally tied the game at 60-60 when Jasper Grassa swished a three from the right elbow with 3:10 left in the game, and took its first lead less than a minute later when Jasper Grassa stripped Ortiz on a drive and fed Byrd for a breakaway dunk.