SWAMPSCOTT — If Lynn Tech could have erased the first and third quarters from Wednesday night’s game at the Richard J. Lynch Gym, the Tigers might have had themselves a game against the Big Blue.
But, of course, those quarters counted. And so did the final score — 66-40 Swampscott. The win was the Big Blue’s fourth in a row.
“It was important for us to start fast,” said Swampscott coach Jason Knowles, who credited strong defense coming out of the gate as a big reason for the start.
“We go as our defense goes,” Knowles said.
Both halves followed similar patterns. The Big Blue jumped out to a 21-4 lead in the first quarter before the Tigers scored the next four points to climb to within 11 (21-10).
After Riad Benagour closed the quarter with a bucket to make it 23-10 Swampscott, Tech actually outscored the Big Blue in the second quarter, 13-10, to go into the locker room trailing 23-13.
Wesley Morales scored six of his nine points in the period as Tech climbed back into the game.
“That’s what I like about our team,” said Tech coach Corey Bingham. “We keep fighting. We’re never counted out.
“We’re rebuilding, and a lot of these kids haven’t played basketball before,” he said. “But I’m telling everyone ‘get your wins now,’ because in a couple of years we’ll be right there.”
When it was time to start the third quarter, Swampscott came out ready to play. The Big Blue opened up with a devastating 19-4 run to put the game away.
“I felt we took our foot off the gas a little toward the end of the half,” said Knowles. “So coming out strong was a point of emphasis.”
Leading the run for Swampscott was Ryan Ward, who netted nine of his game-high 21 points. Knowles wanted to keep his foot on the gas this time.
“Our goal was to get up to about a 30-point lead and then (get the subs in),” he said.
The highest the lead got was 28 (62-34) and, true to his word, in came the subs.
“We put them in at the end of the first half and they struggled a little bit,” Knowles said, “but when we put them in again, they did better. We were able to pretty much maintain the margin of victory.
“This is their chance to show what they can do,” he said.
Also hitting double figures for the Big Blue were Mick Ross and Liam Wales with 12 points each.
The high scorer for Tech was Jayden Welch with 12 points. The Tigers fall to 1-8 and will play on the road at Concord-Carlisle Sunday afternoon (2:45).
Swampscott (6-4) looks forward to a rematch with Marblehead at home Friday (7). The Magicians won the first matchup.
