MIAA boys hoop: Prep, English set up for a dramatic Division 1 matchup

If the stars align correctly English and St. John’s boys basketball teams will face off in the Division 1 semifinals of the MIAA boys basketball tournament.English drew the second seed and will host Malden in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday at 7 pm, while St. John’s will host Waltham on Tuesday at 7 pm.”I haven’t personally seen (Waltham) this season,” Eagles coach Sean Connelly said. “I do know that Division 1 north is tough. Any game that we drew would have been a challenge.”St. John’s doesn’t have much experience going into the tournament. What they do have is one of the State’s best players, Pat Connaughton, who has averaged 24.5 points per game, while averaging 18 rebounds per game.”I expect him to continue to play this way going into the tournament,” said Connelly. “But we know we have a tough road ahead of us.”English will be without coach Buzzy Barton for the tournament as the MIAA suspended him as the result of investigations into recruiting violations.In Division 2, Classical earned the eighth seed and will play host to Woburn on Tuesday at 7 pm.”There is a lot of parity from 1-to-16 this year Division 2,” Rams coach Tom Grassa said. “It’s not like in years past when you had a team like Charlestown who was so loaded that the only question is who will lose to them in the final.”The Rams will face a formidable opponent in center Nick Lund, who stands 6-7.”I’ve seen (Woburn) play a couple of times,” said Grassa. “It should be a very tough game.”Salem earned the top draw in Division 2 with the seven seed, and will host Brighton on Tuesday at 7 pm.”We don’t know much about (Brighton),” Witches coach Tom Doyle said. “But they are a Boston city team so they are bound to be pretty good.”Beverly drew the 12th seed and will travel to fifth seeded Reading on Monday at 7 pm.Lynn Tech will face off with Commonwealth Conference rival Northeast at home on Tuesday at 7 pm, whom they defeated by 16 points earlier in the season, after earning the fourth seed in Division 3.”We are a young team,” Tigers coach Marvin Avery said. “We are taking nothing for granted at this point. We play a very tough non-league schedule though to help prepare for this.”Saugus’ 11-9 season was good enough to earn the ninth seed. They will travel to Greater Lowell on Tuesday at 7 pm.”It’s a tough match up for us,” Sachems coach Paul Moran said. “They play a lot of man-to-man and match-up zone. And also, we have to travel to their gym.”Winthrop’s outstanding 19-3 season was awarded with the second seed in division four, as well as a first round by that means they will not have to play until next Saturday. They will play the winner of the seventh seed St. Clement and 10th seed Mystic Valley game.”We’ve scrimmaged against St. Clement so we know a little bit about them,” Vikings coach Dave Brown said.St. Mary’s drew the ninth seed, which pits them against Trinity Catholic on Tuesday at a time and venue to be determined. If they get past Trinity they would then need to play the top-seeded juggernaut New Mission.”Everyone has known for some time now that the top two teams were Winthrop and New Mission in Division 4,” Spartans coach Kevin Moran said. “We happened to fall into the New Mission side. We haven’t played Trinity this year, but they are big and athletic and have a good record.”