St. Mary’s boys’ hoop falls to Lawrence

LYNN – Division 1 power Lawrence fought all night to hold off St. Mary’s and capture a victory, 60-55, Wednesday night at the Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.
“Lawrence pressures you fullcourt the whole game,” said St. Mary’s coach David Brown. “Then they push you again in transition, but our effort was there tonight. We’re getting better as we go along.”
St. Mary’s (5-3) received strong performances from Dennis Bailer (20 points, four three-pointers), Luc Zikianda (12 points, 15 rebounds) and Jonny Mercado (11 points, four steals).
“Bailer is such a tough guard and a great player,” said Lawrence coach Raymond Nunez. “We had to adjust and trap him, and our guys adjusted and rotated very well against a talented, very disciplined St. Mary’s team.”
The Spartans jumped out to a 16-12 first-quarter lead before Lawrence (4-2) amped up the defensive pressure.
“Lawrence pressured the ball great,” said Brown. “I wish we executed better down the stretch, but that’s a very tough Lawrence team.”
Despite the loss, the game was a testament to the program Brown has helped build at St. Mary?s. The Spartans proved they could hang with Lawrence, a contender in the loaded Merrimack Valley Conference and a threat to advance deep into the Division 1 tournament. Forcing a veteran Lancers squad, featuring nine seniors, into such an evenly matched contest served as a reminder the Spartans can play with anyone.
“A game like this is going to help us in the long run,” said St. Mary?s senior small forward Phil Garraud, who hauled in eight rebounds and scored eight points. “Teams in our conference and ones we’ll see in the playoffs won’t have played competition like this.”
Brown was particularly impressed with Garraud, who helped ignite the Spartans after being outscored, 9-3, in the second quarter.
“I tell Phil all the time, I can’t judge how he plays based off his numbers,” said Brown. “He’s always in the right spot defensively, and he sets our defensive tone with his communication. He’s a complete basketball player, and hopefully he keeps getting better.”
Garraud drew a momentum-changing charge in the third, and Bailer drained back-to-back three’s to put St. Mary’s back within one (38-37) after third. Zikianda’s energy on both sides of the ball was a difference all night, and the Spartans also received a boost from recent JV call-up Mike Cerulli (two points, six rebounds).
Both teams traded blows in a tense fourth quarter, but Lawrence gained an edge with a six-point advantage (54-48) with under a minute to play. Bailer then drilled a three-pointer and Mercado tied up a loose ball to give the Spartans possession, down three, with 36.4 seconds to play.St. Mary’s called timeout to set up a play, but a whistle was blown on Bailer for an offensive charge on Lawrence guard Julio Vicente before the ball was even inbounded.
“I don’t know how you make that call that late in the game,” said Brown. “If you’re going to make a call like that, you should be calling it throughout the game.”
Brown was assessed a technical foul for voicing his displeasure. Lawrence sunk both free throws and knocked down a layup on the ensuing possession, and a three-point deficit suddenly turned into a seven-point lead for the Lancers. Lawrence knocked down free throws to hold on, 60-55.”Games like this are going to get us ready for the tournament,” said Brown. “The reason why we schedule games like this is they’re going to make us better in the long run. “