LYNN — Tuesday’s clash between the St. Mary’s and Lynn English boys basketball teams had just about everything you could want in a high school basketball game. There was tough defense, back-and-forth momentum swings, furious rallies and even some flaring tempers, but in the end the Spartans were able to hang on to notch a 57-49 win over the Bulldogs in the opening round of the Walter J. Boverini Basketball Tournament at Paul Cavanagh Field House.
“I don’t think we played as well as we could have, especially in that first half,” said St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown. “I think the guys took it a little personally and they wanted to show what we’re made of, and we were able to make those winning plays in the second half.”
Omri Merryman and David Brown Jr. led the balanced Spartan offensive attack with 13 points each, while Derick Coulanges added 11 points in the victory.
On the English side, Tyrese Melo Garcia was the top scorer with 16 points. Carmelo Buese added 10 points in the loss, while Lionel Rivera scored eight points.
“Our guys fought hard and played well in a chippy, emotional game, but we just didn’t make enough plays to win the game,” said English coach Alvin Abreu. “It obviously hurts to lose, but this is the kind of game that makes both teams better.”
From the start of the game, emotions were high and the intensity was up. After a first quarter that saw the two sides battle to a 19-18 near-stalemate (with English barely in the lead), St. Mary’s was able to get a small foothold and jump ahead 29-27 with less than three minutes to go in the half. All scoring ceased from there for the rest of the half, as the Spartans took that two-point lead into the break.
The third quarter saw some more ugly basketball early on, with turnovers and missed shots keeping the score low on both sides. But once the Spartans were able to stabilize, things turned around and St. Mary’s stretched its lead to six points by the end of the third quarter.
With tempers flaring and a couple of small shoving matches in the early part of the fourth quarter, the stage was set for a thrilling finish. English cut the deficit to just three points (52-49) with a minute and a half remaining in the game, but St. Mary’s didn’t blink. Behind several key wins on 50-50 balls and a few clutch free throws down the stretch, the Spartans were able to walk away with the win and move on to the tournament final.
“We talked at the half, and I think early on the guys thought they’d be able to take it to English right away and that didn’t happen,” said Brown. “They beat us in the first half, but we came out with a better effort in the second half and that’s what made the difference.”
“You need to win those 50-50 balls if you’re going to win a game like this,” said Abreu. “We really get on our guys about winning those balls, and you can see how much of a difference it makes.”
English (3-1) will take on Lynn Tech in the consolation game of the Boverini Tournament Wednesday (1:45).
St. Mary’s (4-1) will take on Lynn Classical in the championship game of the Boverini Tournament Wednesday (5:15).
