LYNN — The 42nd annual Elementary Basketball Tournament was in full swing Thursday night with four games. The Drewicz and Callahan girls teams came away with wins while Brickett and Lynn Woods boys teams came out on top.
The Drewicz girls basketball team started the night off with a win 10-4 win over Connery in a Division 1 game. Erichelle Lluveres was the star of the game, scoring eight points.
“They all play with their heart every single game,” Drewicz coach Kelly Morris said. “They just play with their whole heart and that’s the whole thing about this tournament. It brings out the best in these kids.”
Lluveres got started fast with an early jump shot to put the Dolphins out front. After a basket from Marly Perez, Lluveres jumped in front of a pass and pushed Drewicz lead to 8-0 in the second half. Drewicz never looked back from there on its way to the win.
Next up was the Callahan girls basketball team’s 21-14 win over Washington in Division 2. Jada Tejada and Yaideliz Lozada both had impressive games for Callahan with 10 points each.
Denva Curry led the way for Washington with six points.
Washington jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a basket from Curry, but Tejada responded with an offensive rebound and two baskets to put Callahan out front.
Callahan kept control, eventually pushing its lead out to 8-2 before the second quarter.
Washington got within two thanks to two baskets from Curry in the third quarter, but couldn’t carry enough momentum to regain the lead. A late run led by Tejada helped Callahan pull away in the fourth quarter and earn the win.
“It’s so much fun,” Callahan coach Brianne Caira said. “The girls have been waiting for this. Last year we got knocked out and it was a really close game. We have two returners that are in fifth grade and are so excited to have made it to play again. It’s really exciting for them.”
Brickett kicked things off for the boys Division 2 games with an impressive 49-22 win over Lincoln Thompson.
“It was nice to get a win,” Brickett coach Donna Whalen said. “They played well tonight and everybody contributed so that makes it more fun. The biggest thing I think about this tournament is it gives the kids an opportunity to see other kids in the city. Especially for the fifth graders as they go into middle school they will see some of these faces again. It’s nice to win but there’s a lot more to it.”
Jeremy Perez had a phenomenal night with a game-high 20 points for Brickett. Andy Batista hit two 3-pointers on his way to 14 points while Ethan Gicheru scored 10 points.
Lincoln Thompson’s Angel Figueroa scored six points while Christopher Friedman added four.
Brickett’s shooting game didn’t take long to heat up. Batista hit two early 3-pointers and Perez added one of his own to help Bricket jump out to a 19-6 lead after the first quarter.
And the pair never slowed down, with Brickett getting its lead as high as 27 on the way to a dominating win.
The night wrapped up with a defensive battle between Division 2 boys Lynn Woods and Shoemaker. Lynn Woods pulled away late to walk away with the 35-16 win.
“Everyone contributed whether they play a minute or 40 minutes they were all there to help,” Lynn Woods coach Alex Kakambouras said. “I think we were a little bit nervous at first but we settled down and got used to the yelling and the big court.”
Marvin Avery had a great night on both sides of the ball for Lynn Woods, scoring a game-high 18 points. Kyle Doney added five points while Alejandro Cuevas Vorilla and Nathan Cutone each had four.
After Lynn Woods jumped out to an early four-point lead, Will Potter (six points) made a nice move to the basket and finished a layup to tie things up late in the first quarter.
Both teams traded leads throughout the second quarter but ultimately Shoemake had no answer for Avery, who helped Lynn Woods pull away in in the second half.
“It’s different,” Kakambouras said of the tournament. “We play in different gyms throughout the season. Some are half the size of this so the kids get up and down easily. Then you play on a full size court and after about two minutes they’re gassed. It’s awesome that they get this experience with all the parents and family members here.”
