Hamilton-Wenham eliminates Spartans in North semifinals

WOBURN – St. Mary?s came into this Division 4 North semifinal matchup with a ton of fight, but they just couldn?t keep pace with the 21-0 Hamilton-Wenham Generals, losing 66-53. The Spartans were led by the great play of Jonny Mercado, who dropped 17 points to lead the team. They also got solid contributions from Dennis Bailer (14 points) and Phil Garraud (five points, 10 rebounds).
On the other side, the Generals were led by their star sophomore guard Marcus Zegarowski, who scored 30 points.
The first quarter was all about the defense from both teams. Both teams stacked the paint and forced the outside shot. What hurt St. Mary?s was Hamilton-Wenham has some great shooters, namely Zegarowski. He was able to knock down most of his shots to give the Generals an early lead.
Mercado had a great start to his game, knocking down a three and getting some baskets in the paint. He also pulled down two rebounds.
Spartans? coach Dave Brown took the time after the game to praise his young sophomore guard Mercado.
?Jonny has made some tremendous strides this year,” he said. “He?s one of the best players in the North Shore, and I expect a lot from him next year.”
Bailer put on a show in the first half, dancing all over the court and breaking everyone?s ankles along the way.
St. Mary?s started attacking the paint in the second quarter, drawing fouls and slowing down the Generals? fast-paced offense. After a couple of big defensive plays, the Spartans stole almost all the momentum and cut the deficit to two points.
But although the Spartans came back and scored 16 points in the second quarter, they couldn?t take the lead from the Generals. Zegarowski had 15 points in the first half alone, and Hamilton-Wenham went into the half with a 31-21 lead.
Bailer started the second half started off well for the Spartans with a deep and-one three-pointer to cut the deficit back to single digits. Then Mike Cerulli came up with a couple clutch shots, and St. Mary?s was again trying to steal back the momentum.
Bailer started facilitating on the offensive end, hitting guys like Cerulli and Mercado for open shots. The Generals focused much of their attention on Bailer for the entire game, and other Spartans were open because of it.
Garraud played a great third quarter, pulling down rebounds and filling up the stat sheet with everything except points. As the clock wound down in the third, he grabbed a rebound, took it all the way up the court, and drew a hard foul that got the crowd going. Unfortunately, he remained on the floor with an injury.
It seemed like the wind came out of the St. Mary?s sails a bit after that. Bailer couldn?t hit the big shots. Garraud was fighting through the pain and still trying to take charges. And Hamilton-Wenham just kept hitting shots. The Spartans started fouling everyone at the two-minute mark, and the Generals were able to ice the game with free throws.
After the game, Brown talked about Garraud?s effort.
?Phil is a warrior for us,” he said. “He always guards the opponent?s best player and he fills up the stat sheet every time.”
Brown also gave credit where it was due.
?That?s a great team we played over there,” he said. “I knew they were going to over-play Dennis (Bailer), and we had a bunch of guys step up. That kid Zegarowski controlled the game tonight.”Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi