Tech boys hoop team holds off Monument in D3 North quarterfinals

LYNN – Trailing 62-60 with just 1:22 remaining, the Lynn Tech boys hoopsters scored two key buckets to offset upset-minded Monument yesterday at the Tech Field House, 67-63, in the quarterfinals of the Division 3 North Sectionals.The fourth-seed Tigers (16-8) will travel to Wilmington on Wednesday (7) to face top seed Hamilton-Wenham in the semifinals.Tech brought the ball into the Monument end after a failed Knights (11-11) possession, with guard Felix Rios bringing the ball up the court. He passed the ball over to teammate Rich Warren (the game’s high scorer with 19), over on the left. Warren dribbled for a few seconds, then let loose with a high-arcing three-pointer that brought the Tigers into the lead for good.Monument guard Anderson Santana and center Euclides Semedo missed attempts under the Tigers net with less than a minute left, and Tech regained possession. Guard Gerrad Fairweather had the ball near the top of the key, then bullet-whipped the ball to forward Omar Nyang under the Knights bucket for the basket with 28 seconds to go to increase the lead to 65-62. The squads then traded free throws for the final points.””My guys didn’t quit, and we just kept working, ” said Tech coach Marvin Avery about his team outlasting 12th-seeded Monument, which had knocked off defending state champ Watertown in first round action last week. “They withstood our press, and they made big plays. This is an example in which the brackets mean nothing. It was a good effort on both sides.”The Tigers held a 60-53 edge early in the final period, but the undermanned Knights (only seven players in uniform, with only six seeing action) took advantage of hot shooters (theirs) and ice cold shots (Tech’s). Guard Stevie Weathers (seven) and Santana (a team-high 18) drilled three-pointers to bring Monument to within 60-59, and Pugh made it a trio of three-pointers over the course of a minute to give the Knights a 62-60 lead.”Those two, along with (forward Tyrell) Pugh have been doing it all year for us,” Monument coach Hakim Johnson said about his senior guards. “We were one to two possessions away from winning, but Tech is such a tough team, and are deep off the bench.”Tech took a 12-8 advantage after the opening quarter, but both squads traded the lead throughout the second. The Knights held a 32-25 edge late in the half when guard Johan Vizcaino (14) drilled a three-pointer. The Tigers netted seven points in the final 30 seconds to deadlock the score at 34, including a tremendous three by Warren. He stole an inbounds pass with mere seconds left in the half, and falling out of bounds on the far sidelines, lofted his shot that tickled the twine right at the buzzer.”That was such a big run for us,” Avery said about the 9-2 spree that the Tigers finished the half with. “And that shot was so huge, right at the buzzer. Rich makes the big plays day in and day out for us.”