LYNN — The Tech boys basketball team fell into an early hole and, despite hanging around for most of the night, was never able to climb out of it in a 65-51 home loss to Shawsheen Wednesday night.
For the Tigers and head coach Stevie Patrick, the loss was a perfect example of some of the inconsistencies that have hurt Tech throughout the year.
“It’s just indicative of the season,” Patrick said. “We’ve been in every game. Out of all 19 games, the first one was maybe the only one we didn’t have a chance. It’s just that this team this year is very inexperienced. Yeah I have seniors, but this is their first time really playing minutes.”
The Tigers’ size has also been an Achilles heel this year and it proved to be a deciding factor against the Rams. Tech had no answer for Shawsheen forwards Santino Garofolo (19 points) and Jake Tyler (18).
“The size is a factor too,” Patrick said. “A lot of these other teams out-size us. (Wednesday) we played two big guys. The Swampscott game (a 53-46 loss) was like that too. We were in both games. When you don’t have the size, most of my post guys are just muscle. They’re football players, not quote-unquote basketball players. The tallest guy I have is 6’2.”
Despite the loss, Malik Purter (18 points, four rebounds, four steals) had a solid game to lead the way for Tech. Julian Peralta scored 10 points, while Greg Hernandez added nine.
“We had a terrible start,” Patrick said. “We got down by seven and just couldn’t break that ceiling. Our defense is there every game, it’s just putting the ball in the basket. We have at least seven or eight zone plays, six or seven man plays and read plays so that we can read the defense and react to it. It’s just the experience and the (mental) toughness. Toughness comes with experience.”
The Tigers took a quick 2-0 lead but the Rams followed with a nine-point run and held on the rest of the way to take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter.
Late in the second, Purter’s 3-pointer and a quick basket by Mike Welch cut the Rams lead down to four, but Garofolo finished the half with four-straight free throws to give Shawsheen a 25-19 lead before the break.
The Tigers offense started to find some rhythm in the third quarter, with Peralta and Hernandez each knocking down 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Rams. Garofolo and Tyler traded baskets in the third to bump the Shawsheen lead to 40-30.
Tech finally grabbed some momentum thanks to another pair of three’s, one from Purter and another at the buzzer from Peralta, to cut the Rams lead to 41-36 before the fourth.
A defensive stop gave Tech a chance to cut the lead to three early in the fourth but a turnover turned into a quick basket for Shawsheen and things started to snowball from there.
“When you’re down five in the fourth quarter and you just won the third, you have the momentum,” Patrick said. “We came out, stopped them and were looking to score to make it a three-point game but make a lazy pass and they go coast-to-coast for a layup. That’s when it spirals.
“I could’ve called timeout, but it wouldn’t have made a difference. I know this team very well. Not only that, I want them to figure it out. I can’t do it for them.”
Tech never got that close again, with Shawsheen building a 16-point lead midway through the fourth and holding on for the win.
The Tigers (5-13) will end their season on Senior Night when they host Mystic Valley Friday (5:30).
“Hopefully we can close the year out on a good note,” Patrick said. “We’ll see, we’re going to practice and get ready.”
