LYNN— This one was everything it promised to be.
A year ago, the St. Mary’s boys basketball team was denied of the Walter J. Boverini Tournament crown after a loss to Classical in the championship game. Saturday night at Tech, the Spartans erased last year’s sour memories.
In a back and forth battle where no lead was safe, St. Mary’s eked out an 82-79 win over English at Tech’s Field House.
St. Mary’s has won three of the last four Boverini Tournaments.
“This is huge,” St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown said. “We gave one away last year that we thought we had. To win three out of four, we’re the smallest school in the city. St. Mary’s doesn’t get too much respect. You know you’re good when people start talking about you, whether it’s good or bad. People are talking about St. Mary’s, that’s a good thing. I told the kids, ‘I guarantee 90 percent of our opponents have us scheduled for a big game.’ We have to come ready to play.”
Jalen Echevarria, who was named the tournament’s MVP, led the Spartans with 22 points, three rebounds and two assists. Ademide Badmus (16 points, 15 rebounds) logged a double-double and Joey Abate-Walsh (16 points, nine rebounds) came close. Josh Perez scored 13 points, eight on free throws.
St. Mary’s featured eight different scorers, with Marcus Brunson-Perez and Sammy Batista providing key minutes off the bench.
There were four Bulldogs in double-figures. Alonzo Linton led the charge with 19 points. Jarnel Guzman and Justin Fitzpatrick each scored 13, and Jack Rodriguez added 10.
“This game was a war,” English coach Antonio Anderson said. “No excuses on my end. We lost a tough, gritty game to a good team.
“Without a doubt this game will help us in the long run. That atmosphere was state tournament-like. I couldn’t thank the city of Lynn enough for coming out and supporting all the kids involved in the tournament over the weekend.”
Rodriguez opened the game with a nifty move to the basket for an easy lay-in. Perez netted a pair of freebies to knot the score. Rodriguez and Lee Pacheco each scored five points in the opening quarter. St. Mary’s held a slim 15-14 lead heading into quarter No.2.
Tied 19-19, the Spartans took a 5-point lead on Brunson-Perez’s 3-pointer and Echevarria’s breakaway lay-in. Echevarria came alive for 11 points in the period, aiding the Spartans to their first double-digit lead. A late English spurt cut the deficit to five and the Bulldogs trailed 39-34 at the half.
English sprinted its way to a 7-0 run out of the gate in the third quarter, claiming a 41-39 edge. Turnovers kept the Spartans at bay for the majority of the period. A late Spartans run, however, gave St. Mary’s momentum moving going the fourth. Abate-Walsh knocked in a 3-pointer, Badmus hit a hook shot and Batista beat the buzzer with a lay-up in the final seconds. The Spartans led 58-53 at the end of the third.
“I’ve been saying it all along,” Brown said, “we have guys, 1-11, that can step up at any given moment. Sammy made a big difference tonight.”
Ahead 65-55 with six minutes remaining, St. Mary’s looked to be in position to coast through the fourth quarter.
Not so fast, English said. It only took English a minute to put St. Mary’s on its heels again.
Guzman’s 3-pointer with 4:59 made it a 67-65 game as the Spartans hung by a thread.
“I was really impressed with our effort,” Anderson said. “We left it all on the floor. I couldn’t have asked for more than that. I was impressed with our effort and how hard we played, for sure.”
Foul trouble hurt the Bulldogs in the closing minutes. Batiste sunk a freebie with .4 seconds and capped St. Mary’s 82-79 win.
“English is a talented basketball team,” Brown said. “Antonio has his kids playing hard and fast the whole game. I told our kids we’d get up and they’d make their runs, they’d get up and we had to make our runs. It’s all about keeping your composure. It’s about bragging rights. These kids are friends with each other. At the end of the day, this was a great basketball game.”
The Spartans (7-0) host KIPP Academy Friday (7:15). English (5-1) visits Gloucester Friday (7).
As soon as the game ended, at 5:35 p.m. Lynn Police were called to Tech for a disturbance, after a spectator stormed the court and made his way to the English bench. He was escorted from the building. No arrests were made, and police remained on the scene until the court cleared.
