The St. Mary’s boys basketball team got a pleasant surprise Friday when it won a three-way coin toss to gain the top seed in the Division 3 North sectional tournament.
The Spartans, one of three 17-3 teams in the bracket, got two breaks by getting the top seed. First, two of their biggest players (Joseph Abate-Walsh and Chibuikem Onwuogu) are hurt, and the extra rest (St. Mary’s isn’t scheduled to play until Thursday) helps them heal.
The second reason is that the Spartans, due to restrictions placed on them by the state athletic association (see story, Page B2), will not have any home games. As the top seed, they have a bye until Thursday’s quarterfinal game between either No. 9 Lynn Tech (13-7) or No. 8 Newburyport (also 13-7). Beginning with the semifinals, all games are played at neutral sites, meaning St. Mary’s will only have to play one game on an opponent’s home court. And if Tech wins the game against Newburyport, “we could end up walking across the street to play them,” said coach Dave Brown.
Brown will be up at Newburyport Tuesday to watch the Tigers and Clippers play. And while he’d like to stay in Lynn to play in his first tournament game, he’ll accept what comes.
“Newburyport beat Tech last year, so maybe Tech has a little bit of motivation to beat them this year. We’ll get a better look on Tuesday.”
Outside of Abate-Walsh and Onwuogu, “we’re healthy. And we got a chance to see some of our younger kids play in the last week of the season, which as good.”
The Spartans are looking to make the state final in Division 3 for the first time. Two years ago, they were state Division 4 champions and last year fell to Maynard in the Division 4 state final.
Lynnfield, also 17-3, is seeded second in D3 North and will play Wednesday against Swampscott (3-17), one of two area teams in the bracket to have made the tournament via the Sullivan Rule, which allows teams that play the majority of their games against schools from higher divisions to qualify if they go at least .500 against those in their own bracket.
Saugus (5-15) is also a Sullivan Rule team, and will open Tuesday night (7) at Belmont.
St. Mary’s is the only boys team seeded No. 1. In Division 1 North, Everett — which beat both Classical and English in the final weeks of the regular season — is the top seed with a 19-1 record.
English, 16-4, got the fifth seed and will open the tournament Wednesday (7) at the Paul Cavanagh Fieldhouse against Peabody (12-8 and seeded 12th).
The Bulldogs were sailing along undefeated in the. Northeastern Conference until they lost to Everett two weeks ago. Since then, they went into a bit of a tailspin, losing to Classical and then to Everett again.
Peabody got off to a slow start but gained momentum as the season progressed.
Classical, 12-8, is seeded 13th and will have to go on the road Tuesday night to face Lowell. The Rams’ season got off to a promising start with a win over St. Mary’s in the Boverini Tournament. But they struggled for consistency the rest of the way.
Lowell, seeded fourth, is 16-4. Should Classical and English both win, they would play each other at the Bulldogs’ gym. It would be the rubber game for the two teams, as each beat the other once.
Also in Division 1 are St. John’s Prep, Malden and Medford. The Eagles (15-5) are seeded seventh and will play the Golden Tornados of Malden (13-7) at home (7) Tuesday.
Medford (10-10) plays what amounts to a play-in game as only the Mustangs and Tewksbury will compete in a preliminary-round game (Tuesday at 7). The winner will go to Everett Thursday.
In Division 2, Beverly grabbed the top seed with a 15-5 record and will play Malden Catholic (3-17, another Sullivan Rule team) Tuesday at 7.
Also competing in Division 2 are Marblehead, Salem and Gloucester.
The Magicians are seeded 11th (12-8) and will be on the road Tuesday (7) at No. 6 Winchester to face the 14-6 Sachems.
The Witches qualified at 10-10 and are seeded 14th. They will be on the road as well, traveling to North Andover Monday (7). Like Salem, Gloucester also squeaked in at 10-10. The Fishermen are in action Monday at No. 2 Arlington.
Winthrop (9-11) is the final North Shore team to qualify. The Vikings are seeded ninth in D4 North and will play Excel (South Boston) Tuesday (6) on the road.
