St. Mary’s falls to Austin Prep after fourth quarter comeback

A fourth-quarter comeback attempt by St. Mary’s fell just short Friday as the Spartans fell to host Arlington Catholic, 54-53.The Spartans (3-4, 2-3 Catholic Central) trailed by six entering the fourth but came back to take a 53-52 lead. With about a minute remaining, the Cougars nailed two free throws to take the lead. St. Mary’s was unable to get a shot to fall the rest of the way.Spartans coach Kevin Moran said his players’ defensive effort in the second half kept them in the contest until the end.”Whatever five guys we put out there, they really defended,” he said. “I’m very pleased with the defensive effort tonight.”Marblehead 55, Classical 52At Classical, the Magicians held on late behind Matt Temme’s 19 points. Tom Stockwell added 19 for Marblehead (5-4, 5-3 Northeastern Conference). Classical had two chances to take the lead or tie down the stretch, but couldn’t convert either. Jasper Grassa led the Rams (4-3, 3-2 NEC) with 20 points, while his brother Nick scored 10.Tech 95, Greater Lowell 61At Greater Lowell, the Tigers (5-4, 5-1 Commonwealth Conference) led from wire to wire, aided by a ferocious press.”We created lots of turnovers that led to a lot of easy points on our end,” coach Marvin Avery said. “It was a very good team effort.”Garrad Fairweather led Tech with 24 points, while Richie Warren added 21. The Tigers play at Northeast next Tuesday.St. John’s Prep 57, Malden Catholic 40At Danvers, the Eagles (7-0, 2-0 Catholic Conference) remained unbeaten behind Pat Connaughton’s 22 points. Mike Carbone chipped in with 15 points, while James Doherty added 11. The Eagles host Classical on Sunday.Salem 72, Saugus 55At Salem, Antonio Reyes erupted for 33 points to pace the Witches (6-3, 4-2 NEC).Salem led by just two points at the break, but Reyes nailed four three-pointers in the third period to help Salem open up a comfortable lead.Brian Boyajian led Saugus with 17 points, while Omar Benabicha added 14.Winthrop 67, Peabody 45At Peabody, Dino Mallios’ 20 points helped the Vikings (9-0) remain perfect.Mark Jenkins chipped in with 12 for Winthrop, which led by 39 entering the final quarter.Jimmy Leavitt, Jared Lewis and Brian DeAngleis scored eight points apiece for the Tanners (2-7, 1-5 NEC).Beverly 85, Swampscott 50At Beverly, George Kallas scored a career-high 19 points and added 12 rebounds for the Panthers (3-4). Curtis Manuel also scored 19, while Justin Marrs had 15 and Mike Clayton added 12.Swampscott (1-7) was led by Bryan Sullivan’s 10 points.Austin Prep 58, Bishop Fenwick 50At Reading, the Crusaders fell to 1-5 despite 22 points from Trevor Grace and 12 from Alex Morsey..The Crusaders were within two entering the final period, but turnovers doomed Bishop Fenwick and Austin Prep was able to convert its foul shots down the stretch.Mark Kaliris led Austin with 17 points.Gloucester 66, Revere 60At Revere, Greg Cabral scored 31 points, but the Patriots fell to 1-6 (0-6 NEC).Gloucester was led by Mike Tomaino (25 points) and Adam Philpott (21).