Lynnfield boys hoop wins D4 North title

MALDEN – Lynnfield went into the locker room at halftime with a 13-point advantage. Most teams would feel complacent with such a large lead, but the Pioneers (16-7) extended the gap to 22 points (52-30) early in the fourth quarter. They held on for a 58-44 victory in the Division 4 North final over the Snowden Cougars on Saturday evening at Roy G. Finn Gymnasium in Malden.”We talked about defensively, they did some things in the first half that were helping them facilitate ball movement, but they were just missing shots,” said Lynnfield head coach Scott McKenzie. “We talked about some areas that they were trying to exploit in the paint and they found them in the second half.”Senior Pat Kearney was the leading scorer with 15 points for Lynnfield. Freshman center Adam Buchanan tallied 14 points with 10 of those coming in the first half. Edward Moore added 12 points as his shooting from the outside created fits for the Cougars’ defense.The fourth-seeded Pioneers changed their defense by switching to a 2-3 zone defense that caused problems for Snowden to attack inside with 6-3 center Derron Stone. Snowden was unable to hit shots from the perimeter throughout the opening 16 minutes of play.Lynnfield raced out to a 5-0 lead on a free throw by Moore and baskets by Buchanan and Connor Sullivan (13 points). The Pioneers pushed the score to 11-3 after Moore knocked down his first three of the night, but Snowden closed the opening quarter with six consecutive points.In the second quarter, the teams played stout defense and forced several turnovers on both ends. Nearly halfway through the quarter, Moore nailed a trey and Buchanan scored off an offensive rebound. The Pioneers continued to control the paint as Buchanan hit a couple more baskets and the stifling Lynnfield defense allowed Snowden to convert just one field goal with Jaquann Smith’s three-pointer.When the second half began, the Pioneers scored two quick buckets. Snowden was able to attack the net with more dribble drives and got to the line more frequently. Lynnfield was able to push the lead to 15 points as it outscored Snowden 15-13. Kearney and Moore were able to score on runners in the lane and jumpers at the elbow.In the final few minutes, Snowden cut the lead in half to 11 at 52-41 by making free throws. The only area where Lynnfield struggled was at the line as the Pioneers were 7-of-20, but they were able to keep their composure and score enough points to not allow Snowden back in the game.”Every time we get up big, teams make runs,” said McKenzie.For Snowden, it was an unexpected run. Smith and Stone led the Cougars with 13 points each.”It’s tough,” said Snowden head coach Paul Rogers. “Nobody wants to end their season this way.”Now, Lynnfield will head to the state championship at TD Garden, where it will face off against Bishop Connolly on Tuesday.