All four Lynn boys basketball teams spring into action next week in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 North tournament – with three of them getting down to business on their home courts.English, which finished its Northeastern Conference North-winning season at 20-2, opens Wednesday (7) against Greater Boston League power Cambridge.The Bulldogs were seeded third in Division 1 North, behind Central Catholic (20-1) and Lexington (18-1). Should they beat the 14th-seedeed Falcons (12-8), they’d play a potential quarterfinal game against Lowell – against whom they split two tough games earlier this week.”It’s a good matchup for us,” said coach English coach Buzzy Barton. “They’re very athletic, very fast, but they’re not big. They like to play an up-tempo style, which is good for us.”Barton is happy he’s on the opposite side of the bracket from Central Catholic and Everett, but that lot falls to Classical.The Rams, seeded eighth (14-6) open Tuesday at home against Boston Latin.”I don’t know how strong they are, as we haven’t seen them yet,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said. “We played them a couple of years ago when Jarell (Byrd) and Jasper (Grassa) were freshmen, and we lost in overtime.”Grassa says the Rams will benefit from playing on their own floor because, “we shoot a lot better in our own gym.”He also says his team needs to focus on this game, and not worry that it might face top-seeded Central Catholic in the next round, should it win.Semifinal games are played at neutral sites, and the finals for all sectionals will take place on Saturday, March 7, at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.Also in Division 1 are Salem, which opens Wednesday at home against East Boston; and St. John’s Prep, which has a preliminary game against Acton Boxborough Monday night (7). If The Prep wins, the Eagles would play second-seeded Lexington next Friday (7).Three North Shore teams are vying for the D2 North crown ? and two of them will play against each other Tuesday when No. 12 Gloucester (11-11) travels to 13-7 Marblehead (seeded fifth). Also in Division 2 is Beverly (seeded seventh at 13-7), which hosts Burlington Thursday (7).Division 3 might only have 11 teams participating, but they’re 11 very good teams. Lynn Tech, which comes in at No. 7, will entertain Minuteman at 7 p.m. Wednesday in first-round action, and if the Tigers win, they’ll get tossed right into the fire as they’ll travel to No. 2 Watertown next Friday (also at 7).”We’re confident,” said Tech coach Marvin Avery. “We’re very familiar with Minuteman (which defeated the Tigers in December). They’re scrappy. They don’t run plays. It’s more helter-skelter.”Tech and Watertown have had some memorable battles in the past, but most of the time they’ve taken place at the Tsongas Arena in the sectional finals.The only other area team competing in Division 3 is Bishop Fenwick, which is seeded No. 1 at 18-2 and has drawn a bye. The Crusaders will await the outcome of the Weston-Bedford game, which takes place Tuesday, and play the winner next Saturday, at Salem State College (7).”They’re both good teams, from good leagues,” said Fenwick coach Mike Kane, “so this should be a good game for us.”Kane said Thursday’s loss to Greater Lawrence “should be a wakeup call for us that we have to come out and take care of business.”St. Mary’s (10-10) gets to open its quest for a Division 4 North crown at powerful North Cambridge Catholic (seeded fourth at 14-6) Tuesday at 7 p.m. Also in Division 4 is Lynnfield, which waits until Wednesday to play against Mystic Valley (at Malden Catholic, 7). And if both teams win, they play each other in the quarterfinals at a date to be announced.Winthrop (18-4) is seeded second. The Vikings will open at home Tuesday (7) against Tyngsborough. Last year, Winthrop beat Lynnfield in the sectional semifinal for losing to North Cambridge Catholic in the final. This year, Georgetown (17-3) has drawn the top seed.Tyngsborough may be 1-19, “but we know they’re from a tough lea
