LYNN — The Lynn Classical boys basketball team had to fight off several Medford rallies throughout the game, but in the end the Rams were able to hold on for a 68-61 win in a Greater Boston League bout Tuesday evening. Classical showed flashes of brilliance at points during the game, but a number of mistakes kept the game close the whole way.
“We’re still trying to find our niche as a team,” said Classical coach Marvin Avery, who is in his first season at the helm. “We’ve got some inexperienced guys out there and in certain situations they don’t know the time and score, so we’re still working through that. But as a coach, my job is to settle them down and get them into a rhythm, and I think we did a good job making adjustments down the stretch.”
Senior forward Angel Garcia Figueroa came up with some big plays down the stretch to help Classical secure the win, notching a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
“Angel did what a big man needs to do out there, go in and be aggressive, hit the boards and help out on defense,” said Avery. “He did a really good job out there and he’s been playing really good basketball for us over the past two games.”
Junior guard Jadden Gonzalez led the offensive attack for Classical with 21 points and four rebounds, while freshman guard Marquese L’Italien Avery (12 points and three rebounds) and senior guard Jayden Thornton (11 points, five rebounds) also finished in double figures for the Rams.
After a bit of a back-and-forth start to the game, Classical caught fire midway through the first quarter and jumped out to a 20-7 lead by the end of the frame. The Rams extended that lead to as many as 15 points in the second quarter, but Medford kept battling back. The Mustangs closed the quarter on a 20-6 run, cutting Classical’s lead to just 33-32 at halftime.
Classical once again came out with some fire early in the third and went up by seven points, but Medford continued to hang around for the entire quarter. The Mustangs eventually battled all the way back to take a 45-44 lead with about a minute to play in the third, their first lead since they were up 4-2 early in the first quarter. Still, Classical was able to hit a couple shots down the stretch to take a 47-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Classical once again went on a solid run to go up by nine points. Garcia Figueroa pulled down some clutch rebounds and had a few key putbacks to keep Classical ahead, and some solid free-throw shooting down the stretch helped the Rams hang on for the victory.
Classical (2-0) hosts Everett Friday afternoon (4).
“We’ve got to start working on things like help defense and things like that, but really we need to find our rhythm,” said Avery. “That’s only going to come by playing more and getting more familiar with the system and each other. The guys are getting there, and now we’ve just got to move on to practice and keep working.”
