NEWTON — The Lynn English boys basketball season came to an end Tuesday night as the No. 10 Bulldogs were defeated by No. 7 Newton North 52-38.
Despite the loss, head coach Alvin Abreu said his team has “nothing to hang their head on” and called them a “special group.”
“I think they should walk out of here with some pride even though we weren’t able to accomplish our goal,” Abreu said. “I’m very proud of my guys. They gave it their all.”
English went into halftime with a 21-17 lead, but in the third quarter, the Tigers exploded on offense – headlined by four threes.
“In these types of games where it’s a possession game in a state tournament, when you make a three, it almost feels like double. That’s what it felt like today,” Abreu said. “Those threes killed us.”
The Tigers went on a 17-3 run to close the quarter.
“We weren’t able to recover from that run,” Abreu said. “We weren’t able to get the stops that we needed to stop their run. When we’re not scoring on our end, it makes it hurt even more when they score.”
Newton North’s senior guard Jose Padilla scored 13 points of his game-high 20 in the third quarter. Padilla finished through contact several times, in addition to showing his range with two triples in the quarter.
In the fourth, English’s offense continued to struggle as the Bulldogs committed three straight offensive fouls, giving possession back to the Tigers who capitalized after each turnover.
The Tigers’ run continued into the fourth, going on an 11-5 run and ultimately ending the Bulldogs’ season.
When asked what Abreu is going to miss about his seniors, he said they “were a pleasure to coach.”
“They’ve been with me since last year. [I’m going to miss] their work ethic on the court and in the classroom,” Abreu said. “I’m super proud of those guys. I’m hurting for them. You never want to end, and for our season to be over, I’m going to miss them extremely.”
Point leaders – Lynn English
Warren Keel Jr. (12)
Tyrese Melo Garcia (10)
Joshua St. Jean (8)
Kyle Kemembin (4)
Carmelo Buese (4)
