Silfa leads St. Mary’s boys hoop past Fenwick

PEABODY ? During a timeout about five minutes into the first quarter of last night’s St. Mary’s/Bishop Fenwick boys basketball game, one of Anthony Silfa’s teammates screamed at him in the Spartans’ huddle: “They can’t guard you!”It was an accurate assessment.Silfa torched the Crusaders for 33 points, including 24 in the first half, to lead the Spartans (5-2) past Fenwick (3-6), 75-60, in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score, at Bishop Fenwick.Curtis Lockett added 14 points while Dennis Bailer chipped in with 12 for the Spartans, who led by 19 points at halftime and 28 points after three quarters. Dom Luoni paced the Crusaders with 15 points, while Travis Maxner added 13 and Matt Costello had 11.”We’re coming along,” St. Mary’s coach David Brown said. “I was pleased with our defensive effort tonight. We’re getting better on the defensive end.”In their defensive end, the Crusaders were faced with the dilemma of playing a zone and giving up shots, or trying to stop the speedy Spartans with a man-to-man. They chose the former, but Silfa and Bailer combined to torch them for seven 3-pointers in the first half.The game was tied at 7-7 when Silfa fed Lockett for a 10-footer along the right baseline, and then Silfa connected on a 3-pointer from the right elbow to spark a 9-0 run that gave the Spartans the lead for good.Bailer took over at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second, scoring nine straight points to give St. Mary’s a 25-10 lead with 7:16 to play in the first half. With Silfa doing the bulk of the scoring, the Spartans continued to build their lead throughout the second quarter, and another Silfa trey from the right elbow made the score 43-24 at halftime.St. Mary’s went on another 8-0 run early in the third period, with Lockett doing most of the heavy lifting on offense. His steal and layup with three minutes left in the quarter made the score 60-36, and then the Spartans closed out the period with a 7-point burst to put them ahead, 67-39.With its starters playing against St. Mary’s reserves, Fenwick opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run. Though the Crusaders continued to chip away, their deficit was far too big to fully overcome.”Give them credit. They played hard until the end,” Brown said. “They never gave up.””I was proud of our effort tonight,” said Fenwick coach John Preziosa. “We didn’t give up. But until we figure out how to have less turnovers, it’s going to be tough.”