LYNN — The English boys basketball team just keeps on rolling.
Behind a huge offensive game from Jarnel Guzman and some stifling team defense, the Bulldogs knocked off Northeastern Conference foe Gloucester, 90-60, at Paul F. Cavanagh Field House Tuesday night. Guzman scored 30 points, hitting eight 3-pointers in the win.
“Jarnel has been playing great all year, but he’s actually been struggling from behind the arc lately,” said English coach Antonio Anderson. “Over the past few weeks, he’s been staying late every night to get shots up. We all told him to keep shooting because we knew he could knock them down, and (Tuesday) he was able to knock them all down.”
Ademide Badmus added a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Mason Jean-Baptiste had 18 points and four rebounds. Jack Rodriguez added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Joshua Saint Jean had six points and seven rebounds.
“We really had all four of our main guys going tonight, and when we do that we’re tough to beat,” said Anderson. “But it wasn’t only them, because every player who saw the floor tonight really made an impact for us.”
Guzman got the Bulldogs off to a blazing start, hitting the first two shots of the game and helping English jump out to an 8-0 lead. The Bulldogs eventually stretched that lead to 14 points, with Guzman knocking down five 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. By the time the dust had settled, English was ahead 29-18.
The second quarter was a bit up and down for English, but things were mostly looking up. The Bulldogs did a good job of controlling Gloucester star Marcus Montagnino (23 points, eight rebounds), sending a number of double teams his way and forcing turnovers.
“We knew Marcus was a really good player, so we wanted to try to force the ball out of his hands as much as we could,” said Anderson. “But he’s also a really good passer, and he was able to hit some open teammates that were able to knock down shots as well. But overall we did a good job of keeping them off balance and forcing turnovers when we could, then we were able to capitalize on the other end.”
Jean-Baptiste took over in the second, scoring six clutch points to help the Bulldogs extend their lead to as many as 18 points. Although some foul trouble for English allowed Gloucester to go on a small run, the Bulldogs still led 51-34 at the half.
The scales really tipped in English’s favor in the second half, as it seemed like every shot the Bulldogs put up found the bottom of the net. Guzman, Jean-Baptiste and Rodriguez all hit big shots from the outside as the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 72-49 by the end of the third.
English continued to cruise in the fourth quarter, never letting its lead get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Next up for English (12-2) is a home game against Winthrop Friday (7). As the Bulldogs hit the home stretch of the season, Anderson wants his team to keep building as the state tournament looms closer and closer.
“We just want to keep getting better every day,” said Anderson. “We know that we’re going to have to start rounding into tournament mode as the season goes on, so we just want to work as hard as we can each day and keep getting better.”
