Tech beats Southeastern 95-88

LYNN – The Lynn Tech boys basketball team advanced to the Vocational School Large Championship by getting past Southeastern last night, 95-88, at the Tech Field House.Click here for a photo gallery.The Tigers (13-8) will face Greater New Bedford tonight (6) at Tech.Tech trailed only in the game’s first few minutes (3-0, 3-2), before utilizing its fast break to open up a close game. Leading 9-7 in the game’s first moments, the Tigers went on 14-3 run to widen their lead to 23-10. Tech’s defense pressured the Hawks (10-11) into several turnovers, which contributed to numerous baskets along that stretch. Included in that run was one that started on a steal by guard Trey Gallo in the Tigers zone. He fed teammate Rich Warren, who performed a give-and-go with forward Omar Nyang for the hoop. That gave Tech a 16-7 lead midway through the period.Southeastern – ironically, the same school that the Tech football team defeated in the Vocational Large Super Bowl this past fall – was able to close the deficit to eight on two occasions (23-15, 27-19), but Tech took a 29-19 lead after the quarter.Both teams were very sloppy throughout the first half, with more turnovers than a bakery. Yet the Tigers started to pull away in the second as a result of the Hawks’ miscues. Leading 34-26 early on, Tech went on a 10-2 spree, which included a three from deep right by Warren (15 points). Southeastern missed various shots, and failed to come up with offensive boards, helping the Tigers on that run. Tech held a 48-34 halftime edge.”We were coming off two tough nonleague losses (to English and Cambridge), and we got off to a helter-skelter start (against Southeastern),” said Tech coach Marvin Avery. “We had no scouting report, and so it was a chess match as the game went on. Our defensive pressure was very tough, and we rotated our bench consistently.”The Tigers put the contest out of reach in the third. The Hawks closed to within 10 (53-43) after an early three-pointer by guard James Ortiz . Yet baskets by forward B-Jay Baptiste (18) and Nyang (a team high 22) pushed the lead to 57-43.Southeastern tried to make a run late in the stanza, getting to within 66-53, yet baskets by Nyang, guard Trey Gallo (three-point play), and guard Michael Duarte increased Tech’s favor to 73-53 in the quarter’s last minute.With 5:12 remaining, the Tigers were up 84-62, yet the Hawks then enjoyed a 10-0 run of their own, which included back-to-back threes by guard Jason Cabral (Southeastern hit five of its eight three-pointers of the game in that period, which helped it outscore Tech, 33-22). Both squads then traded baskets throughout the rest of the way. Tech held a 94-82 lead in the final seconds. Hawks guard Nick Barboza (the game’s leading scorer with 23) hit consecutive threes, sandwiching a free throw by Tigers forward Adam Lawn, for the seven-point margin.”We didn’t execute well, and we weren’t settling for the quick shots,” said Southeastern coach Dean Duquette. “Tech is a very athletic squad, and they finished (their opportunities) well. We didn’t execute on defense the way we’re supposed to.”