LYNN — In what head coach Stevie Patrick said was a “test game” for his team, the Lynn Tech boys basketball team made a few too many mistakes and fell to Hamilton-Wenham, 62-56, in a tightly contested non-conference game on Thursday evening. The Tigers had a 10-point lead early on, but turnovers and fouls hindered them for most of the game.
“We beat ourselves tonight,” Patrick said. “We got off to a good start and had things where we wanted them, but we just made too many mistakes to win. There was a lot of good and bad from tonight’s game.”
When asked what kind of a grade he’d give his team for this “test game,” Patrick gave the Tigers a B-minus while giving the Generals a B-plus.
“Neither of our teams played our best for sure, there was a lot of sloppy play on both sides,” Patrick said. “But give credit to them, they made the plays when they needed to.”
The Tigers were led by Rob Wallace, who nearly had a double-double with 20 points and eight rebounds. Belmin Berillo had 17 points and six rebounds, while Tre Baldwin had 11 points and four rebounds.
Tech got off to a hot start, playing some suffocating defense to force a number of turnovers and jump out to an early lead. The Tigers spread their lead to 10 points as the quarter wound to a close, but a late 6-0 run by Hamilton-Wenham in the final 30 seconds cut it to 19-15 Lynn Tech after one.
The Tigers continued to do almost everything right, but the turnovers and fouls started to take their toll as the second quarter wore on. The Generals started to employ a full-court press defense that really threw the Tigers off, and Hamilton-Wenham was able to take a 22-21 lead about halfway through the quarter. The Generals didn’t surrender the lead until nearly the end of the third quarter, ending the half with a 31-27 lead.
Tech started battling back in the third quarter, eventually coming all the way back to tie the score on a Berillo floater with 57 seconds left in the frame. Then, 22 seconds later, Baldwin grabbed a huge rebound and put it into the net to get the lead back. The Tigers led 43-41 going into the final quarter.
The lead changed back and forth three times in the fourth quarter, eventually settling into a 51-51 tie with 2:30 to go. It was in this critical stretch that Hamilton-Wenham played its best, scoring five points in 30 seconds and shutting down Tech to go up 56-51, where the Generals never relinquished the lead. After a few free throw makes, the game was in hand for Hamilton-Wenham.
While it’s a tough lesson to learn, Patrick knows that it’s one his team needs as they prepare for a potential tournament run. The Tigers will also get another shot at Hamilton-Wenham, as the two meet again on February 12.
“This is the reason why we schedule teams like this during the year, to see where we stack up,” Patrick said. “The next time we meet it will be the best game of the whole season.”
Tech (7-5) has a quick turnaround with a game against Presentation of Mary tonight.
