LYNN — The Lynn English boys basketball team kept its unbeaten record alive Friday afternoon, notching a 63-45 win over cross-town rival Lynn Classical on the road in a Greater Boston League battle. The Bulldogs jumped ahead early and never looked back, leading by as many as 28 points during the game.
“It was good for us to get back to what we do best and make an impact on the defensive end,” said English coach Antonio Anderson. “We did a good job defensively and that was able to feed everything else we did out there. That’s how we want to be defined, by our defense.”
Aaron Vizcaino led the way for the Bulldogs with 16 points and four rebounds, while Kanye Wavezwa was right behind with 15 points on five 3-pointers. Ademide Badmus continued his strong senior campaign with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Louis Rivera Jr. chipped in 11 points and two rebounds.
Prior to the game, Classical honored its three seniors — Jayden Thornton, Antonio Flores Chinchilla and Angel Garcia Figueroa — for their contributions to the program over the years.
Jadden Gonzalez was the leading scorer for Classical with 15 points and six rebounds, while Marquese L’Italien Avery scored 13 points. Thornton added 10 points and two rebounds, while Garcia Figueroa had four points and eight rebounds.
“English came out and played well and was able to take advantage of the mistakes we made,” said Classical coach Marvin Avery. “My guys gave a great effort from start to finish, but English played well and got the better of us.”
Classical came out and took an early lead behind a 3-pointer from Thornton, but English quickly responded with a 3-pointer of its own from Vizcaino to tie the score. The Bulldogs eventually pulled ahead and didn’t give the lead back for the rest of the game, taking a 19-12 lead into the first break.
English extended its lead even further in the second quarter, using its defensive pressure to force Classical into mistakes and then taking advantage of those mistakes by getting fastbreak points. The Bulldogs only allowed Classical to score two points in the second quarter, and English led 31-14 at halftime.
English pushed the lead to as many as 26 points in the third quarter before coasting to victory in the fourth quarter.
Classical (3-2) hosts Somerville Monday evening (6).
“We’ve got to clean up those mistakes in terms of turnovers, but we also did some good things out there that we can build on,” said Avery. “We’re just going to turn the page from this one and start preparing for Somerville.”
English (4-0) hosts Malden Monday afternoon (4).
“The key for us is to just keep up the intensity on the defensive side,” said Anderson. “Our goal is to finish the regular season strong and get some momentum going into the GBL tournament.”