The St. Mary’s boys basketball team was tied 25-25 on the road against Burke – then the Spartans’ offense got going in the second half en route to a 64-57 victory. St. Mary’s head coach Dave Brown felt his team settled in nicely in the second half. “Burke did a good job slowing us down in the first half with their zone defense,” Brown said. “In the second half, we were able to get out in transition more, and started making shots from the outside – which was the difference in the game.” The Spartans’ senior trio of Omri Merryman (18 points and seven rebounds), Nick Sacco (12 points and eight rebounds), and Anthony D’Itria (12 points) were big in the win. St. Mary’s is now 6-2 and plays Friday against Arlington Catholic.
BOYS HOCKEY
Winchester 2, St. Mary’s 0
St. Mary’s surrendered a goal 8:33 into the first period, and were unable to find an answer on the road against Winchester. St. Mary’s head coach Mark Lee feels this outcome can become positive for his team. “Winchester is a really good team,” Lee said. “Give them credit, they played with more energy and were the better team today. We have a young team that I think will learn from this game and be better for it.” The Spartans received a monster performance from goalie Anthony Palmer, as he recorded 34 saves. This was St. Mary’s first loss of the season (9-1-2) as it looks to get back to its winning ways Saturday afternoon against Newburyport.
St. John’s Prep 4, Xaverian 1
St. John’s Prep was down 1-0 midway through the first period, but the Eagles went on to net four unanswered goals. St. John’s Cole Bleaser tied the game 1-1 late in the first, and John Morton scored what proved to be the game-winner early on in the second period. Johnny Tighe and Christian Rose also scored a goal apiece for the Eagles.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Mystic Valley 49, KIPP 22
Despite defeat, KIPP head coach Tiphani Harris was pleased with her team’s performance. “We went into the game with a mindset of – everyone do your job and good things will happen,” Harris said. “We were not concerned about the score – we wanted to show that we could play, and everyone did a good job of that tonight.” KIPP was led by the trio of Naomi Mingo, Jani Ocasio, and Jasmine Castillo, as they did a good job limiting Mystic Valley’s front-court players according to Harris.
BOYS TRACK
Malden 63, Classical 23
Classical traveled to Malden and was led by double-winner Pierre Jabin, who took the high jump (5’10) and 50-yard dash (5.9s). Other winners for the Rams were Kymani Phipps in the 50-yard hurdles (8.0s), and John Nasky in the 50-yard dash (5.9s).
Everett 77, English 8
English received strong performances from Waleri Mora Cruz, who placed second in shot put (37’0.50), and Janathan Andrades, who finished third in the high jump (5’4).
Greater Lowell 52, Tech 31
Alan Barrios impressed for Tech, as he placed second in the two-mile. The Tigers’ next meet is Wednesday, January 25 at home.
GIRLS TRACK
Tech 46, Greater Lowell 38
The meet came down to the 4×200 relay, and anchors Angelica Santini and Ami Garica made sure Tech finshed first. Jireilis DeJesus stood out for the Tigers, as she had two second-place finishes, (300-meter and high jump). Amaya Williams took second in the 55-meter for Tech as the Tigers remained undefeated at 5-0.
Malden 65, Classical 21
The Rams visited Malden and were led by Mariana Deleon, as she took the 600-meter (2:18.2). Classical also had strong showings from Kassandra Pena, who placed second in the 50-yard dash (7.0s). Isabella Pimentel placed second in the 300-meter (56.1s) and Jihanne El Garroudi placed second in the one-mile (8:04.0s).
Everett 60, English 24
The Bulldogs’ Victoria Samuel led the way as she placed first in the 50-yard dash (6.6s). Miriam Chavarian was also a winner for English, as she took the 1,000-meter (4:09.8s).
