Spartans solve Fenwick

LYNN – The St. Mary?s boys basketball team put together one of its finest efforts of the season on Monday evening against visiting Bishop Fenwick. The Spartans jumped out to a 23-9 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back on the way to a convincing 78-54 victory at Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.?I thought we played very well as a team tonight and didn?t have to depend on one or a couple of guys to do all the scoring,” explained St. Mary?s coach David Brown. “We had three players score in double figures and we continue to improve defensively. I still see a work in progress but we are definitely coming along.”Curtis Lockett was the main attraction early and often, scoring 11 of his game-high 23 points in the first period.On a night where highlights would be plentiful, the Spartans junior got a rise out of the crowd four and a half minutes in when he finished on a one-handed putback while drawing a free throw he?d convert.The hosts also saw quick production from Dennis Bailer (10 points), who combined with Lockett to hit four three-pointers in the opening eight minutes. Matt Costello did his best to keep the Crusaders competitive, scoring six first-quarter points.The second period got off to an exciting start with a deep ball from Jonny Mercado and nifty lay-in from Anthony Silfa that increased the St. Mary?s lead to 19. Fenwick responded on a trey from Dom Luoni before a short jumper from Travis Maxner. Silfa (16 points) made a triple from the left corner leading to a Fenwick timeout at the 5:59 mark.?Anthony has been shooting the ball very well lately and I think Fenwick keyed on him tonight,” said Brown. “We have a team full of great basketball players, however, and their focus on Anthony opened up space for our other shooters tonight. We showed tonight that we?re not a one-man team.”An incredible sequence late in the half allowed the Spartans to enter the break with a 42-20 lead.With under 2:00 remaining, Costello was rejected on a reverse layup by Luc Zikianda (11 rebounds, 5 blocks), which led to a three ball at the other end from Lockett. On the ensuing possession, the Spartans forced a turnover at mid-court before Nick Amenta also converted from downtown, which forced the Crusaders into another timeout.St. Mary?s also put together one of its better defensive efforts of the year, holding a typically combustible Rishad DeSilva to just two points in the game, while also keeping Travis Maxner (5 points) in check.?We just tried to pressure them as much as we could and get up and down the floor,” explained Brown. “We?re an athletic team that likes to score in transition.”At the 3:59 mark of the third period, Lockett was on the receiving end of a lob pass from just inside half-court, which he not only finished on with a twisting layup, but managed to draw a foul on as well.The final period was punctuated by two Spartan dunks, the first from Lockett at 3:00 before Silfa brought the house down on a slam that drew a foul and upped the lead to 20 at 70-50.The Crusaders managed to keep pace with St. Mary?s throughout the half, in which they were only outscored 36-34. Luoni would score 16 of his team-high 19 points while Costello finished with 12 points for the visitors.