Boys Hoop: Tech uses strong second half to power past Greater Lawrence

Passing a very hard test against Greater Lawrence on the road, the Lynn Tech boys basketball team moved closer to clinching a state tournament berth on Tuesday as Richie Warren Jr. poured in 25 points to lead the Tigers to a tough 76-71 win over the Reggies.”The crowd intensity was great,” Tech coach Marvin Avery said. “It was a very hard-fought game.”Tech (8-6, 8-2 Commonwealth Conference) led by a point (13-12) after one quarter but found itself down 34-31 at the half. The Tigers promptly exploded for 26 third-quarter points to assume control of the game for good.Trey Gallo added 21 points for Tech while Felix Rios had 16 points, eight assists and five steals from his guard spot.”Felix really controlled the game at the end for us,” Avery said.Classical 76, Gloucester 51At Classical, Ariel Ligonde had 14 points while Jasper and Nick Grassa each added 12 as the Rams (9-6) cruised to a comfortable win.Classical led by five after one quarter before scoring 28 in the second to bust the game open. Shaddai Pena added 11 points for the Rams. Adam Philpott led Gloucester with 15.Saugus 67, Peabody 61At Peabody, Brian Boyajian continued his stellar play for the Sachems, leading all scorers with 25 points. Omar Benabicha added 19 for the winners.Peabody (5-10) got 17 points from Alex Marc-Aurele and 11 from Jimmy Leavitt.Revere 82, Swampscott 67At Revere, Trae Weathers had 21 points to lead three Patriots (4-9) who finished in double figures en route to a comfortable win. Matt Handy had 15 and Frank Colleran chipped in 11 for Revere.Peter Yasi led Swampscott with 18 points while Mike Walsh had 15 and A.J. Baker finished with 10.St. John’s 73, Malden Cath. 50At Malden, the Eagles (14-0, 6-0 Catholic Conference) continue to roll right along as Pat Connaughton’s 26 points were a team and game high. MacKenzie Burt added 11 and Steve Haladyna chipped in 10 for the balanced Eagles.”We got contributions from a lot of guys,” Prep coach Sean Connolly said.The Prep hosts Charlestown on Friday (7).