English off to running start in state tourney

LYNN – Some “word to the wise” for the Andover boys basketball team when the Golden Warriors host English Friday (7): don?t let the game turn into a track meet.That?s what happened to Lexington Tuesday in a first-round MIAA Division 1 North tournament game against the No. 6 Bulldogs. And while the Minutemen certainly scored a bucketful of points, English ended up scoring 22 more. And the final was an NBA-esque 97-75.The Bulldogs came within an eyelash of getting their second home game in this tournament, but third-seeded Andover wasn?t about to fritter away its advantage. The Warriors trailed Billerica by 13 points in the third quarter, but rallied back on their home court to take their first-rounder and set up Friday?s matchup. The teams were in the same building over the Washington?s Birthday weekend, and both lost to No. 1 St. John?s Prep in the IAABO tournament.English (15-6) got off to a slow start Tuesday and trailed after a quarter, 14-13. But from then on, the Bulldogs left a vapor trail as they sprinted up and down the court, forced the Minutemen into countless turnovers, and were only seriously threatened once — late in the third quarter when the Minutemen scored 10 straight points to climb to within nine points.And that surge was short-lived, as English opened the fourth quarter by getting nine of them back.?I thought it was an excellent win for us,” said English coach Mike Carr. “For us, it was all about getting up and down the court and putting pressure on them. We did that.”Carr was also happy the Bulldogs played four quarters — something he?s been talking about most of the season.?We did,” he said. “I thought we had a good game in the consolation game of the IAABO too (a win over Everett).”He also took note that Stevie Collins, who?d had some injuries during the season, “is starting to get his legs back. He does a lot of things for us out there.”?They press, and they put a lot of pressure on you,” said Lexington coach Reggie Hobbs. “They hound you into turnovers.”There?s no telling what the score would have been had Lexington not possessed the twin towers of Hugh and Harry O?Neil (they combined for 47 of Lexington?s 75 points). Harry torched the Bulldogs for 37 while Hugh chipped in with 10.But English had balance going for it. Four Bulldogs finished the game in double figures, led by Danny Lukanda?s 25 points and John Hilaire?s 23 (including one monstrous Alley-Oop dunk with an assist from Erick Rosario, who scored 19 points of his own).?People talk about our guards,” said Carr, “but I have to tell you, we?ve been getting some real good play from our big guys.”?Both of those guys played very well,” said Lexington coach Hobbs. “That (Lukanda) is very good … very physical.”Collins, who had a relatively quiet first half, finished with 16 points for the game.?This is just a beginning point for us,” said Carr. “Playing in the IAABO tournament helped us a lot. There was a tournament atmosphere up there, and I think that did us a lot of good.”