Lynn squads turn in solid performances in Benedetto Jamboree

LYNN – A pair of preseason top 10 teams locked horns on Friday night in the showcase game at the Dr. Elmo Benedetto Jamboree at English’s Paul F. Cavanagh Field House. And the crowd that packed every inch of the bleachers wasn’t disappointed by the show.The defending Division 1 champs from St. John’s Prep and North semifinalist Lynn English went back and forth in a game that more resembled a track meet most of the night. In the end, it was senior Freddie Shove’s three-pointer with 36 seconds left that was the difference as the Eagles took a 39-38 win.”English is a good, athletic team,” Prep coach Sean Connolly said. “It was a good test for us and certainly we have a few things we still need to work on.”The Bulldogs’ athleticism and length gave St. John’s plenty of fits but the up-tempo style of the game would end up playing right into the hands of senior Steve Haladyna, who gave English fans glimpses of the nightmare he caused them two winters ago.Haladyna led the Prep with 16 points as the Eagles survived a pummeling on the glass by the Bulldogs.”St. John’s is one of the best teams in the state,” English coach Mike Carr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys without a whole lot of game experience so it was a good test for us.”The Bulldogs came out of the gates on fire as senior Keandre Stanton, ranked among the top players in the state, scored five of the game’s first nine points as English bolted to a quick 8-2 lead.Only Haladyna’s play kept the Eagles from getting blown away in the first half as he scored 10 points to put his team up by a pair and begin a back-and-forth affair from there.By the time Mike Carbone hit a layup with 10 seconds left, the Eagles carried a 17-15 lead into halftime.”When the game gets going up and down like that, it fits Steve perfectly,” Connolly said. “He’s a slasher and can get to the rim.”The Prep extended the lead out to five early in the half before Stanton swished a three to cut the lead to two.The lead continued to fluctuate between three and five before Erik Holey’s conventional 3-point play with 4:46 left tied the game at 27-27. Moments later, Stanton buried another three to give English a 30-29 lead.Justin Assad gave the Eagles back the lead and Marcos Etchavarria followed with a layup to make it 33-30. English would fight back and tie the game with 50 seconds left on Gibran Morillo’s layup.Shove, however, canned a three from the left wing seconds later for the lead. Haladyna hit a free throw with 12 seconds left and it proved key as Stanton’s lay-in with five seconds left closed the scoring.Classical 31, Marblehead 19The Rams used a 20-1 run to break a 9-9 tie and blow the game wide open despite committing several critical turnovers.”I’m a little disappointed we had that many turnovers,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said.Classical was in a 5-2 hole early before Moise Builou gave the Rams the lead for good at 9-7. Oliver Gregory tied the game with two free throws moments later. That would be the last Marblehead points for quite a while.Five Davon Morris points closed the half to make it 14-9. The Rams then went on a tear to start the second half, outscoring the Magicians 15-1 to take a 29-10 lead with 3:30 left in the game.Derek Edmonds had seven points for the Rams while Marblehead was led by 10 from Phil Coughlin.Tech 25, Beverly 20Tech coach Marvin Avery is counting on returning starter Mike Duarte to shoulder a lot of the load this season and it’s easy to see why. Duarte averaged 18 points per game for the Tigers last year. He had 12 points in 16 minutes against the Panthers.Duarte buried threes on successive trips down the court to give the Tigers a little breathing room in the first half. Ronnie Williams had six points to help the cause.Tech led 12-10 at the half, but couldn’t put the Panthers away until the final minute or so. Chris Keaton had eight points to lead the Panthers, who are coming off a 9-11 season that saw them miss the tournament by one game.Avery was happy with his team’s eff