LYNN — Good luck to anyone who wants to take the ball inside for some easy baskets against the English boys basketball team.
That’s just not going to happen.
Usually, the first statistic you look at in a basketball game is points scored. Not Saturday, in the Bulldogs’ 77-53 mauling of TechBoston in front of a packed Paul Cavanagh Fieldhouse crowd. The key stats were blocks, rebounds and — perhaps most important — offensive rebounds.
These were the teams that won state championships last March in Divisions 1 and 2. And it was supposed to be a big test for the Bulldogs, who were defeated last week at Yankton, S.D., in a holiday tournament. The game definitely had a late-season tournament feel to it.
But the Bulldogs, 7-1, were more interested in showing their dominance than in being tested. Transfers Jean-Baptiste Mukeba (Arizona) and Ademide Badmus (St. Mary’s) led the way with a pair of devastating performances that does not bode well for future Bulldog opponents.
Badmus finished with 15 points, 21 boards and four blocks. Mukeba had a game-high 16, including at least three thunderous dunks, to go along with 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
“It was good to see J-B a little more involved,” said English coach Antonio Anderson. “In that other game (win over Mansfield), he got into foul trouble, and didn’t play as much.”
Anderson was philosophical about the South Dakota game.
“They handed it to us,” he said, “but we took the loss and learned our lessons from it.”
Saturday, the game was still tight (13-9) after one quarter. But English blocked six shots in the first eight minutes, several straight out of the “get-out-of-here-with-that-stuff” book, and one, by Mukeba, that went out of bounds and to the back wall of the gym with extreme emphasis. From then on, the Bears altered their shots as best as they could. And that left Mukeba and Badmus to do theirs on the boards. Thanks to them, English had a 28-12 rebounding edge in the first half, when the Bulldogs built their lead. The Dogs had 26 offensive rebounds in the game, 12 by Badmus.
“Ademide has been carrying the load for us,” Anderson said. “But we know what J-B can do for us. And (Saturday) was a big step forward for him. When he’s playing like that, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
It was the second quarter that made all the difference in the game. The Bulldogs simply exploded, going from a 13-9 lead to 40-18 by halftime. The quarter began with a 10-2 run and the rout was on. English closed the period with a 14-4 run.
All that was left after that was to play out the final 16 minutes, but don’t tell that to Anderson.
“These guys (TechBoston) are relentless,” he said. “This was a good test for us, because a lot of league play isn’t like this. These guys never give up. They’re always coming at you.”
As much as he enjoyed the competition, he also enjoyed the atmosphere.
“To see all the Lynn people here, it’s great for the city,” he said. “And it’s also great for Lynn English.”
Jaquan Stroud scored 12 points for TechBoston and Shamar Browder added 10. The loss put an end to TechBoston’s 22-game winning streak, but won’t affect its status as the potential top seed in the D2 South state tournament as this was an exclusion game for the Bears.
For English, Jarnel Guzman (14 points), Jack Rodriguez (12 points), and Mason Jean-Baptiste (6 points, two assists) provided assistance to the Bulldogs’ twin towers.
English travels to Winthrop Tuesday (7).
