Bench leads St. John’s Prep to hoop victory

DANVERS – Things got so bad on Wednesday for the St. John’s Prep basketball team that coach Sean Connolly kicked his starters out of the gym, make them the scout team on Thursday, and started the reserves on Friday.The message was received, as a spirited St. John’s Prep team blasted B.C. High, 58-45, at Danvers, Friday night.Coming off the bench, Stephen Haladyna had another magnificent night for the Prep (9-2) with 28 points, and was at the top of the Prep’s full-court press. Mike Carbone added nine. Jameilen Jones was the only player for B.C. High (9-3) in double figures with 10 points. No other player had more than six.”I just didn’t like the work ethic we had in practice this week,” Connolly said. “They (starters) weren’t too happy, but they played hard tonight.”As much as St. John’s defense, B.C. High’s undoing was a terrible night from the free throw line. The visitors missed 15 of 21 foul shots, and never got in sync on offense.”They forced us into a lot of turnovers. That was the key to the game,” B.C. High coach Bill Loughnane said. “They pressed us and we made bad passes. You’ve got to give them credit.”St. John’s reserves kept the game even until the starters entered with about three minutes left in the first quarter. Haladyna scored nine straight points for the Prep to give it a 15-8 lead, but Jones hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to close the lead to one at the end of the first quarter.Carbone’s 3-pointer from the left wing keyed an 11-2 run that started midway through the second period, but Justin Roberts converted a fast break layup and Charles Collins made a layup off a poke steal to make the score 30-25, in favor of St. John’s Prep at halftime.Haladyna found some seams in B.C. High’s 1-3-1 zone in the third quarter to advance the Prep’s lead to 40-29, and the 11-point margin held (47-36) at the end of three periods.”It’s not something we see a lot,” Haladyna said, of B.C. High’s zone. “We just had to keep rotating to the ball and not settle for jump shots.”The Prep blitzed B.C. High with a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter, capped off by another 3-pointer from Carbone and a steal and layup from Haladyna to make the score 56-36, with 5:09 to play.Already playing with three fouls, Haladyna picked up two more in the span of three seconds and fouled out with 3:54 left. Haladyna’s exit gave B.C. High an immediate spark, and the visitors scored seven straight points, but their deficit was too much to overcome.