English puts itself on hoop map with win over Prep

LAWRENCE – “We were the underdog of the tournament. No one expected us to beat Springfield Central and St. John’s Prep,” said English guard Fred Hogan.Well, Hogan and the Bulldogs won’t be able to play the underdog anymore. After downing the 10th ranked Golden Eagles to open the IAABO Board 130 Tourney, English shook off a clutch game-tying driving layup from St. John’s Prep point guard Tyler Dooley with 12 seconds left and stuck in a dagger of its own.Closing out an inspired fourth quarter, Hogan drove into a pack of three Eagles on the right side of the lane and elevated. Getting undercut by one of the defenders, Hogan still swished the short jumper with two seconds left. Out of timeouts, St. John’s Prep saw the clock run out before it could inbound the ball, sending the Lynn faithful into a frenzy after a benchmark 75-73 victory.”I was really going for the foul,” Hogan said of the game’s final drive. “They were in the double bonus and I was hoping to get to the line, but I still felt confident I could make that shot. I knew when it left my fingers it was in, even though I took a lot of contact.””He hit a very tough shot,” said Prep head coach Sean Connolly. “English has good, athletic guards and guys that play bigger than they are. They’re always in the game, even if they’re 10 or 12 points down.”Hogan (18 points) was feeling his offense right from the start of the final quarter, draining a pair of 3-pointers and 11 points over the final 31/2 minutes of action.”The team relies on me,” Hogan said. “I’m the main 3-point shooter on the team and it really helps get the team going. Once I hit my first shot, I knew the rest of my offense would come.”Speaking of shots, the Bulldogs took St. John’s best and fought back. After falling behind by 14 early in the second quarter, aggressive defense from Hogan, Stevie Collins (game-high 28 points) and Danny Lukanda (seven points) not only kickstarted a 15-0 run over three minutes to take a 30-29 lead but it drew six fouls on the Eagles. And when the Prep challenged English behind the stylish playmaking of Dooley (19 points and nine assists) to open up a 10-point lead in the third quarter, English simply punched back harder.”It’s a testament to the toughness of our kids,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Carr. “This is showing what we can be and what we’re becoming. Early in the season, we lost some games because we didn’t know how to handle the lead. Now we’ve had these tough games in tough gyms, games we’re going to see in the tournament, and we’re starting to win.”And after seeing another large lead disappear, St. John’s Prep will be looking to become better closers.”We gave up way too many points to win this game, and we’ve got to definitely do a better job on the boards,” Connolly said, noting how Lukanda’s 16-rebound effort was clutch for English. “We’ve got to play a lot better.”