LYNN– Some games are meant to be classics.
When the Classical and English boys basketball teams met twice last season, the Rams came away with easy victories in both games. Wednesday night at a packed Paul Cavanagh Field House, it was English’s turn to grab a win and Alonzo Linton made sure of it.
Linton scored a game-high 35 points to propel his Bulldogs (8-1) to a 63-60 overtime win in a wire-to-wire battle.
“That’s what Alonzo does,” English coach Antonio Anderson said. “He’s been getting it going the past four or five games. People are starting to realize that he can score that ball. He leads our team. As he goes, we go.”
Linton scored six of his 35 points in the overtime period, netting a basket, drilling a 3-pointer and hitting a free throw in the closing seconds to seal English’s win.
“It was a huge team effort,” Anderson said. “I’m proud of my guys and proud of Lynn English. We took a couple losses to Classical last year. It felt good to get one on our home floor but we still have to go there later in the year. They’ll be waiting for us.”
Javaris Hill scored 10 points, Ademide Badmus added nine and Javonte Edwards tallied seven in the winning effort.
For Classical (6-3), Jaylen Johnson scored 20 points (15 on 3-pointers), Erick Solis added 14 and Edwin Solis finished with 13.
“We talked about some of the things we can do better (after the game),” Classical coach Jasper Grassa said. “We have to come together as a team. At their age, losses like this can lead to a downward spiral. The main thing is for us to move on to the next game.”
Classical shot 11-of-40 from beyond the arc.
“English has a lot of height,” Grassa said. “We did get to the hoop here and there. English doesn’t jump. We threw a couple pump fakes in there but they didn’t jump. They’re very disciplined.”
English’s Linton took control of the first quarter to give his Bulldogs the early lead. Down 7-5, Edwin Solis drained a 3-pointer to give the Rams an 8-7 lead. English closed the quarter on a 7-0 run. Linton led the rally with a basket and a 3-pointer, and the Bulldogs held a 14-8 advantage after one.
Linton swished a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter but the Rams offense started to heat up. Erick Solis reeled his Rams back in with a pair of buckets and a 3-pointer. When Edwin Solis powered his way to the basket for a lay-in with 2:50 to play, Classical reclaimed the lead at 25-24. The Bulldogs closed the quarter on a high note, again, and led 29-25 at recess.
“Classical’s gritty,” Anderson said. “They’re always going to fight. They’re experienced. They have that whole team back from last year. You have to worry about so many players, it’s hard. It was a huge team effort from start to finish and I’m proud of my guys.”
In an evenly played third quarter, both teams scored 14 points. Johnson knocked home a trio of 3-pointers to boost the Rams. Classical looked to have stolen the momentum with Johnson finding his shot but English, again, did the bulk of its scoring towards the end of the quarter. The Bulldogs held their 4-point cushion to lead 43-39 after three.
With Classical ahead 53-52, Edwards hit a free throw to tie the game with 54.1 seconds remaining. Each team added a pair of freebies in the closing seconds to force overtime in a 55-55 tie.
“The atmosphere was great tonight,” Grassa said. “It was just like when I was in high school. There wasn’t anybody I threw out there that let the nerves get to them. We were all ready to play.”
Linton’s six points in the overtime period were enough to put the Bulldogs up 63-60 with 15.3 seconds remaining. Classical took a 3-pointer for the tie but the shot was wide and English held on for the win.
“This says a lot about our team,” Anderson said. “St. Mary’s was a huge test for us, they beat us. We learned a lot. I spoke to Dave Brown after that game and learned about our team. We tried to build off of that. We took steps to get better and it showed tonight.”
The Rams visit Revere Friday night (7) in hopes of snapping a three-game losing streak.
“We have to win,” Grassa said. “That’s it. There’s nothing else to say. We’ve lost three games in a row but we have our full team back. We just have to take care of business.”
English hosts Peabody Friday night (7) .
