LYNN — It was a case of mentor vs. pupil Wednesday afternoon when the English boys basketball team played St. Mary’s in the first round of the Boverini Christmas Tournament.
“Dave (Brown) is a great coach, and a great friend,” said English’s Antonio Anderson about his Spartan counterpart. “He’s given me a lot of advice over the years, and when I went to interview for this job, he gave me advice on what to say and how to say things.
“He’s always had my back,” said Anderson, who, while a player for the University of Memphis, appeared in an NCAA Division 1 final game against Kansas.
That didn’t mean the sentimentality extended to the basketball court. St. Mary’s parlayed a suffocating defense with a sub-par shooting night by the Bulldogs to win the first-round game between the two teams, 49-32, at the Classical gym.
“St. Mary’s came to play,” Anderson said. “He was just doing what he’s supposed to do — coaching his team.”
English was riding a 4-game unbeaten streak coming into the game, but the Bulldogs did turn a would-be rout over Malden Catholic last Friday into a nailbiter by the middle of the fourth quarter, and it appeared their woes continued.
“I think you have to give St. Mary’s credit too,” said Anderson. “They play great defense.”
Brown agreed with that.
“To hold a team like English to 32 points, that’s quite an accomplishment,” said Brown.
Although both Brown (St. Mary’s) and Anderson (Lynn Tech) were out of high school by the time the Boverini Tournament was established, Brown recognizes the significance of it.
“I’m fortunate enough to have coached two state champions,” said Brown (one with Winthrop and the other with the Spartans two years ago) and I go back and forth over what means more. Any time you beat a Lynn team, it’s special.”
Things did not get off to a fast start in this one. It was only 10-6, St. Mary’s after a quarter and 17-16 St. Mary’s after two. And a 5-0 spurt by the Bulldogs at the end of the half — a bucket by Giovanni Cordero and a 3-pointer by Louis Rivera Jr. — got English’s deficit down to a point at the break.
St. Mary’s began pulling away midway through the third quarter. Clinging to a 21-20 lead, English ran off an 18-5 spurt to close out the quarter, giving it a 37-24 edge. As it was through most of the game, scoring was split pretty evenly during the run, with Jalen Echevarria scoring five points and Joseph Abate-Walsh four to lead the way.
As English has been known to score points in spurts, St. Mary’s did not rest on its laurels in the fourth quarter, opening up an 18-point lead and keeping themselves well out of English’s striking distance.
Stephen Fama led the Spartans with 13 points, with Echevarria chipping in with 12.
English, which did not have a player in double figures, saw Alonzo Linton lead the way with eight points.
The Spartans will play Classical, winners over Tech, on Friday afternoon (4:30) in attempts to win their third straight tournament title.
