LYNN — Here’s a good indication of what Lynn Classical was up against Wednesday evening at the Paul F. Cavanagh Field House at Lynn English.
The Rams had fallen behind by a wide margin early, but, by the midway point in the second quarter, had whittled St. Mary’s lead down to a manageable 12 points. Then, in rapid succession, the Spartans connected on two 3-pointers, two more foul shots and another three, sandwiched around a Classical hoop.
Game over, for all intents and purposes.
The final score — St. Mary’s 82, Classical 43 — was academic. The Spartans won their third Walter J. Boverini boys basketball tournament in a row, and their fifth out of the last six.
St. Mary’s won the game on its outside shooting. The Spartans connected for 10 threes in the first half, and 13 overall.
“It’s funny,” said St. Mary’s coach David Brown, “we played (Tuesday) against English and we couldn’t put the ball in the ocean. Tonight, we can’t miss. When we shoot the way we shot tonight, we’re going to be awfully hard to beat.”
The Spartans had it all going for them Wednesday. Ali Barry was the most dangerous bombardier, sinking seven treys en route to a 25-point night. For his efforts, he earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Boverini MVP David Brown Jr., the Spartans’ point guard, chipped in with 20 points. The only other Spartan in double figures was Henri Miraka, who had 10 points.
For Classical, co-captain Nathan Reyes may not have shown up on the scorers’ sheet, but was nominated by coach Marvin Avery as the lone Ram recipient for all-tournament status for the work he did on the court.
“St. Mary’s is experienced, talented, and they have great guard play,” Avery said. “We’re younger and more inexperienced. But take nothing away from St. Mary’s. They are a very good team.
As for the Rams?
“This is one of those games where we see who has character,” Avery said. “Who has hustle. I thought we worked hard.
“We’re going to get better,” said Avery. “We have some things to work on.”
Avery was once in a position of strength in the Boverini Tournament, so he’s seen both sides of the event, which began in 2006.
“I tip my hat to the Boverini Tournament,” he said, “which, as you know, I won a few times. It’s a great tournament. Congratulations to Dave Brown and St. Mary’s.”
Similar to the girls game, St. Mary’s came out strong, and opened up with a 16-4 lead midway through the first quarter and still led, 24-11, after one.
After a Barry 3-pointer extended that lead to 16 (28-13) and it looked as if St. Mary’s would turn on the jets, Jayven Soto, Almani Medina and Marquese L’Italien Avery hit back-to-back-to-back buckets and the lead was down to 12. That’s when the Spartans responded with their 9-2 run thanks to Anthony D’Itria, Barry and Brown and it was all over but the shouting.
“We take pride in playing in this tournament,” said Brown. “It’s always something to be aware of.”
Jadden Gonzalez led Classical with nine points, with Medina chipping in with eight and Avery contributing seven.
Lynn Classical (2-2) hosts Medford Tuesday (7).
St. Mary’s (5-1) is right back on the court Thursday (5) on the road at Bishop Stang.
