Local hoop teams continue their postseason quest

Welcome to hoop heaven.High school basketball fans will feast on a smorgasbord of games this week as the state tournament heads into the North semifinals and finals. With three of the four Lynn boys teams still in the hunt plus the Winthrop boys, as well as the St. Mary’s and Peabody girls, there should be a little something for everyone.One of the most anticipated matchups, English vs. St. John’s Prep, will be played tonight at Salem High at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs will be playing without their top gun, Ryan Woumn, who has to sit a game after having two technical fouls called on him in the quarterfinals against Lexington.English assistant coach Mike Carr, who is filling in for head coach Buzzy Barton(suspended for the tournament and 10 games next year as a result of the school’s recruiting violations), knows the Bulldogs are in for a challenge, but he’s not counting them out.”Ryan is our captain and our leader and we’re going to miss him,” Carr said. “But we’ve been as successful as we’ve been not strictly because of Ryan. We have a great group of kids who have worked their tails off all year.”Carr said the kids have been through the wringer because of some of the things said about the program, but they’ve handled it with class.”I’d like to see Ryan end his career on the floor rather than sitting on the sidelines,” Carr said. “I think they (the other players) are going to rally around us. Does that mean we’re going to go out and beat St. John’s Prep? Only time will tell; we’re very proud of the kids.”Carr said Prep coach Sean Connolly does a great job and has an excellent team that’s comprised by a lot of sophomores and juniors who will be back.”I think our pressure will give them some trouble and I think Pat Connaughton (24 points per game) and some of their kids will give us some trouble,” Carr said. “It’s going to be a good battle.”Even without Woumn, Connolly is expecting English to be very tough.”They’re the most talented team I’ve seen in the state so far,” Connolly said. “I know they’re missing Ryan, who’s a great player, but they still have a lot of talent.”Connolly said if his team is gong to be successful, the Eagles are going to have to take care of the ball against English’s tough press and run and jump style of defense.”I’m sure they’ll be fired up in general because it’s a big game. You have two of the best teams on the North Shore playing,” Connolly said.Division 2 NorthClassical vs. ReadingClassical will head up to Lawrence Wednesday (7) to play Reading in the Division 2 North semifinals. The Rams are coming off a thrilling win over North Andover Sunday that saw the game decided when, with the score tied and time running out, senior guard Jasper Grassa launched a Hail Mary of a three-point shot that found the net for the win.Coach Tom Grassa said Reading has a trio of players who tend to do the bulk of the damage, with one being point guard Trey Jones, who had 33 points against Chelsea. The other guard, Kenny Reed, can also be a problem with his speed and shooting. The third threat is Jerry Ellis Williams, a power forward. Senior Josh Gosselin is a constant threat from the perimeter. The first three accounted for 66 of Reading’s 76 points against Chelsea, Grassa said.Although the Rams are no strangers to the postseason, Grassa said this is the first time in five years his team has made it to the North semifinals. The last time was 2005 when the Rams lost in overtime to Charlestown. Classical went 1-1 in tournament play the next four years.Division 3 NorthTech vs. Hamilton-WenhamTech coach Marvin Avery has seen Hamilton-Wenham play four times and in a nutshell, he is looking at a game that will pit size against speed with his opponent having the edge in size and his team in speed.”They present a problem with their size. We present a problem with our speed and our bench,” Avery said.Hamilton-Wenham reached the North semifinals with a 62-61 win over Saugus. Tech got to this point with a win over Monument. The semifin