LYNN — When Cambridge’s Jeffery White scored a layup – plus the foul – to cut things to 11 in the third quarter of Thursday’s game (the Falcons were down 20 at halftime), there was a sense of uneasiness inside of English High.
But in case you didn’t know, good teams respond. No. 10 English turned it up in the fourth and defeated No. 42 Cambridge Rindge & Latin 79-60 to put a lid on a hard-fought and, frankly, highly-intense battle.
In the end, English’s starpower was just too bright. The backcourt duo of Warren Keel Jr. (34 points) and Tyrese Melo Garcia (24) combined for 58 points to secure English’s spot in the Sweet 16 of the Division I state tournament.
“Our stars played,” English head coach Alvin Abreu said. “Tyrese and Warren got it going and they carried us early.”
The final score is deceiving. During the third quarter and the top portion of the fourth, Cambridge’s full-court press caused problems – and more importantly, turnovers.
“Teams are going to make their runs, and that’s fine,” Abreu said. “We can’t panic… I told our guys to calm down, breathe, do what we do, and things will hopefully work out for us.”
Work out, indeed. The Bulldogs outscored Cambridge by three in the fourth quarter to hold on against the brief scare, but it was the first half that was the difference-maker.
“Defensively, our guys got after it in the first half,” Abreu said. “We looked really fast, we looked connected, we looked engaged defensively. We were flying all over the court.”
Keel and Garcia combined for 18 points in the first quarter – one that ended 20-8 in favor of the hosts. And in the second, the duo never stopped en route to a 20-point halftime lead (41-21).
A highlight of the half was when Garcia lost his defender before banking in a floater with his left hand (a la Larry Bird). That said, it was nothing compared to English’s overall speed and athleticism.
“We’re in shape. I run these guys a lot and it showed conditioning-wise,” Abreu said. “We were able to turn some defense to offense, and our guys came out to play.”
Another theme was the size and strength of English’s Joshua St. Jean, a senior who snagged rebounds from the tip to go along with four points.
Abreu was impressed with his team as a whole in the rebounding category.
“That’s what they do; they did their job tonight,” Abreu said of his team’s rebounders. “He [St. Jean] played like a man on the boards.”
From the dueling sets of cheerleaders to the bleachers full of maroon-colored faithfuls, it was picture-perfect scenery for high school basketball.
“It’s amazing… shoutout to the Lynn community,” Abreu said. “Our guys definitely fed off the energy tonight.”
English moved on to the Sweet 16 where it will face No. 7 Newton North.
