LYNN – Behind the superb play of senior captain Dennis Bailer, St. Mary’s opened the season with a victory over Cathedral, 61-50, at Tony Conigliaro Memorial Gymnasium.
“Dennis is the backbone of our basketball team,” said St. Mary’s coach David Brown. “I’m expecting big things from him this year. He’s a very good passer, good defender, and he settles us down on the offensive end.”Bailer led the Spartans with 22 points, six assists, and four steals. The guard from Malden helped ignite a 15-2 run for St. Mary’s (1-0) to open the game. The Spartans forced turnovers, ran the floor, and found holes throughout the Cathedral zone.”We were very, very eager to play, and that showed in the first quarter,” said Bailer. “But we took Cathedral for granted in the second quarter. we took our foot off the pedal, and they came right back.”Cathedral (1-1) chipped away, cutting the deficit to 16-9 after the first eight minutes. The Panthers then switched to man-to-man defense, and their meticulous halfcourt offense gave the Spartans fits in the second quarter.”We started moving the ball and getting some steals,” said Cathedral coach Ervin Flowers. “Unfortunately, we weren’t consistent with our intensity, but give St. Mary’s the credit. They fought hard and played a great game.”Cathedral finished the half on a 32-14 run, and St. Mary’s found themselves trailing, 34-29, at the half.”Giving up 25 points in the second quarter was unacceptable,” said Brown. “We talked at the half about picking up our defensive intensity. We know we’re not going to score the points we scored last year. If we’re going to win games this year, we’ve got to play defense.”
St. Mary’s immediately displayed some grit on the defensive end to open the second half. The Spartans forced Cathedral into eight turnovers in the third quarter and kept the Panthers out of the paint, forcing difficult long-distance jumpers.The Spartans rebounded to take a 43-41 lead into the fourth quarter. The team received contributions from Joe Fama (14 points, two three-pointers, eight rebounds), Jonny Mercado (13 points, four steals), and Luc Zikianda (13 rebounds, two blocks). The game also marked the varsity debut for Jalen Echevarria, and the eighth-grader knocked down two free throws for the Spartans.Senior forward Phil Garraud (three points, seven rebounds) was the unsung player for St. Mary’s. His effort and constant talking on defense changed the entire game.”Garraud doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, but he’s our best communicator on defense,” said Brown. “He’s a very smart player for us, and he’s a difference maker on the defensive end.”Bailer picked up the load offensively down the stretch, scoring 11 of St. Mary’s last 18 points. But the Spartans won this game with their effort on the defensive end, forcing four more turnovers and holding Cathedral to just nine points in the final frame.”Coach said at halftime that defense was going to win us this game,” said Bailer. “If we picked up our defense, then we’d win it, and that’s what we did.”The Spartans return to action as they host Malden Catholic Wednesday night