LYNN– Perhaps no local team is more anxious to get the winter season started than the St. Mary’s boys basketball squad. The Spartans, Division 4 state champions two years ago, came one win shy of repeating that feat last winter.
St. Mary’s cruised through the Division 4 North bracket, as the No. 3 seed, with victories over Winthrop, Pope John and Lowell Catholic. In the state semifinals, the Spartans upended Cathedral in comeback fashion before falling short to Maynard in the state final. All in all, the Spartans finished the 2016-2017 campaign at 19-6.
“Last year was a very gratifying season considering what we dealt with in terms of injuries and some kids not playing,” St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown, entering his fifth season with the Spartans, said. “Our kids came one win away from repeating and that’s a testament to their hard work and effort. I’m very satisfied with how far we went last season.”
Although they’re hungry to pick up where they left off, the Spartans will face a handful of question marks this season. It begins with filling the key vacancies left by standouts Mike Cerulli, Johnny Mercado and Jonathan Mola, all who left the team due to graduation. Mola’s currently on the men’s hoops team at Boston’s Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology while Mercado’s playing at Bridgewater State.
“Mercado and Mola were two of our big offensive threats that always had the ball in their hands,” Brown said. “I’d say they had the ball in their hands about 80 percent of the time. Cerulli was our glue guy. He was a great rebounder and he always defended the opposing team’s best player. We’re hoping some of the kids can step up to fill those roles.”
St. Mary’s will rely on a pair of key returners to step up in filling their shoes. It begins with junior guard Jalen Echevarria, who emerged as one of the top outside shooters in the Catholic Central League last season. Echevarria took home the Boverini Tournament MVP honors last winter and was named a CCL All-Star.
“Jalen had a tremendous year last year playing off the ball with Mercado running the point,” Brown said. “This year the ball will be in his hands a lot more. He’ll take on a bigger role running our offense and scoring.”
The Spartans will also rely on the services of senior forward Stephen Fama, also a CCL All-Star last winter. Fama saw most of his minutes at the center position, but Brown will look to use him mostly as a forward.
“Stephen’s another player we’ll depend on,” Brown said. “He’s got a lot of varsity experience. He played the five for us last season but he’ll play a little more at the three for us this season.”
Sophomore guard Josh Perez and senior guard/forward Onias Mirbel are also projected to take on big roles.
“We have two players that have played good varsity minutes in Echevarria and Fama,” Brown said. “The hope is that we’ll come together as the season progresses. Hopefully we’ll improve and qualify for the state tournament down the road.”
On the bright side, the Spartans carry more size on their roster this winter. Brown will hope to use the team’s length to its advantage in defense and rebounds.
“I think our size will be our big advantage,” Brown said. “Last year we didn’t have the size, this year we have length. That’ll help us rebound the ball and defend well. We’re expecting that it’ll take some time for the new kids to get used to our defensive system. With the length we have, I think we’ll be productive.
“Our big issue last year was rebounding,” Brown added. “We were undersized most games and that was one of our problems. Hopefully we can improve on that this year.”
Per usual, the Spartans will play a grueling schedule in hopes of preparing themselves for a deep tournament run. St. Mary’s has moved up to Division 3 this season and Brown feels that testing his Spartans with tough opponents throughout the winter will only work to benefit them in the end.
“Our schedule this year has to be one of the top five toughest schedules in the state,” Brown said. “We’ll play in the Comcast Tournament and the Lynn City Tournament. We play Cathedral in the conference and they’re always tough. We moved up to Division 3 and I think our schedule will benefit us in the long run.”
The Spartans tip-off their new season on December 8 when they host Brighton, the defending Division 2 state champion.
