LYNN — The St. Mary’s boys basketball team may have been bested by Malden Catholic on its home court in the Spartan Classic Tournament on Monday, but the 71-64 final score didn’t do it justice.
Not only did the Spartans come back from a 17-point deficit at halftime (34-17), but did so in heroic fashion courtesy of you know who.
St. Mary’s David Brown (12 points) banked in a buzzer-beating three pointer from the top of the key to send things to overtime – aka, his submission for the play of the year.
His father and St. Mary’s head coach David Brown Sr. said the shot “was big for him.” On the other side, Malden Catholic head coach John Walsh – who’s known David Brown Jr. since he was young – said “the kid is such a big-time player.’
“I know he banked it in, but I don’t care,” Walsh said. “That’s what David Brown does.”
With the score knotted at 58, the Lancers got the job done in overtime. Malden Catholic’s Buckley Moody (Medford) set the tone with a triple, and despite a few baskets from the Spartans, they weren’t enough to overcome a 13-point showing from the Lancers in just the four minute extra period.
“When MC went on their runs, they knocked their shots down,” David Brown Sr. said. “That’s a tough basketball team right there.”
A theme of the game – and a frustrating one at that – was the free throw shooting from St. Mary’s.
“You’re not going to beat many teams shooting 19-36 from the free throw line,” St. Mary’s head coach David Brown said. “I’m shocked we even stayed in the game… free throws really hurt us today for sure.”
After a fairly even first quarter (18-14 Malden Catholic), the game’s first big run silenced the home crowd. St. Mary’s scored just three points in the second quarter and was outscored 16-3 in the frame.
But in the second half, the hardwood tilted. If Brown’s buzzer-beating three was the end of the book, his five quick points in the third quarter were the first few pages of the comeback. Malden Catholic didn’t score its first points of the half until the 4:20 mark and St. Mary’s won the third quarter by six points (41-30 Malden Catholic).
They never quit. In the fourth, St. Mary’s Omri Merryman (14 points) buried a three to cut the lead to 54-52, and Anthony D’Itria’s (12 points) triple – one that seemingly hit every part of the rim – made it a one-point game with 17.9 seconds remaining in the fourth.
“Great atmosphere for these guys to play in,” David Brown Sr. said. “That was a great finish for our guys [and] we battled back from 17 points down.”
Not only were the Spartans sharpshooting, but they allowed just 17 points in the second half.
“They [Spartans] defended so well in the second half,” Walsh said. “We just kept turning it over, like, unnecessarily in the frontcourt.”
But in the end, the Lancers had their way in enemy territory; junior guard Nicholas Martinez (Revere) was named Most Valuable Player.
