LYNN — If you think the St. Mary’s boys basketball team looks past its Catholic Central League opponents, Friday’s win over Bishop Fenwick would suggest otherwise.
The Spartans were simply too much for the Crusaders to handle in an 85-42 rout at Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.
“We really pushed the ball,” Spartans coach Dave Brown said. “We knew that Fenwick likes to play in a halfcourt (defense). They try to slow you down with 2-2-1, sometimes they fall back into a 2-3. Our main emphasis in practice was to push the ball, make or miss. The guys really did that and everyone knocked down shots.”
Joey Abate-Walsh (game-high 24 points) and Sammy Batista (20 points) shot lights out, combining for 11 3-pointers. Josh Perez (15) and Derek Coulanges (11) also scored in double figures.
“St. Mary’s is a seasoned team,” Crusaders coach Kevin Moran said. “We know Joey Abate-Walsh is a stud. He’s coming on. Then you’ve got the other guys making their shots as well. They’re in their home gym. You have to pick your poison and I guess we didn’t pick the right poison. They’re excellent.”
Friday’s win gives St. Mary’s (12-2) a 2-game cushion in the CCL Large.
“This was the first time in seven years that we played Fenwick with an impact on whether or not we won or lost the league,” Brown said. “We had a 1-game lead on Fenwick and a 2-game lead on the rest of the guys. We knew Fenwick would come in here looking to tie it up. This was a big win for us.”
Perez and Abate-Walsh each hit a 3-pointer out of the gate, putting the Spartans up 8-4 early. A 6-0 Spartans run, capped by Ali Barry’s floater, stretched that lead to 14-4 and prompted Fenwick to use a timeout. Batista and Abate-Walsh swished a 3 each to close the quarter with the Spartans up 20-8.
“When we shoot like that, we’re tough to defend,” Brown said. “Sammy knocking down shots, Ali knocking down shots and obviously Joey knocking down shots. Our point guard David (Brown) is playing tremendous at the point. He’s a pass-first point guard, pushing the ball in transition and passing the ball ahead.”
It turned ugly for Fenwick in the second quarter. St. Mary’s started the period on a 10-0 run, putting Fenwick in a 30-8 hole. Batista stretched the lead to 36-8 on back-to-back 3-pointers. Fenwick didn’t score again until Max Grenert cut the lead to 38-10 on a pair of free throws. Grenert added two more a few minutes later, but his four freebies accounted for all of Fenwick’s scoring in a forgettable second quarter. The Spartans led comfortably, 46-12, at halftime.
“We knew we could pressure them a bit,” Brown said. “Their guards are solid players but they aren’t overly quick. We figured we’d pressure them a bit, try to speed the game a bit and force turnovers.”
There was no slowing down for St. Mary’s in the third quarter. While Fenwick struggled to buy a basket, the Spartans kept pouring it on with open 3’s and easy buckets in transition. Abate-Walsh and Lee Pacheco livened the crowd with a dunk each. Batista’s 3-pointer with three minutes left in the quarter padded the lead to the 50s, 72-21. Fenwick’s Matt Juneau joined the scoresheet with a layup off the bench.
With a big lead, St. Mary’s gave it reserves minutes in the final quarter.
Fenwick (7-4) has a day to shrug the loss off before hosting Peabody Sunday (3).
“All we’re looking for is that hopefully we can learn a little bit from it,” Moran said. “There’s not much positive that we can take from this. But we can learn from it. We have to turn right around to Peabody Sunday. That’s at our home gym. It’s getting tight now. We have St. Mary’s again, we have Spellman. The road ahead is tough.”
St. Mary’s hosts Williams Monday (6:30).
“We’re just trying to get better and get healthy,” Brown said. “We’re still missing one of our starters, Henri (Miraka). Hopefully we’ll get him back by next Friday. The young kids are getting better as we go. The experience will help us in the long run.”
