LYNN — A hostile crowd. Would Lynn Tech capitalize, or would St. Mary’s silence it?
For Friday’s Walter J. Boverini boys basketball championship, powerhouses stepped onto Lynn Tech’s new hardwood, putting on a show for the city faithful.
After lead changes, enough whistles for a week’s worth of games, and a hold-your-breath finish, the visiting Spartans prevailed.
St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown couldn’t have been happier after the 59-57 victory. He was happy for a certain family member, too.
“Tech gave us everything we could take… I’ve got to give head coach (Corey) Bingham a lot of credit. That’s my little cousin,” Brown said. “He’s doing a tremendous job since he’s been there. I don’t know if I’ve seen a program jump that much in the amount of two years.”
You name it, this one had it.
After Brown received a technical foul in the fourth quarter – much to the home fans’ delight – Tech cashed in at the line (57-55, St. Mary’s).
Then, with two minutes remaining in front of seemingly half the city, St. Mary’s Donel Kabongo Mutombo finished a layup – plus the foul – to give his team a four-point cushion.
Tech had its chance, down two points with three seconds remaining, but an inbound passing play was bobbled.
The next thing you knew, St. Mary’s was celebrating and JJ Martinez (17 points, 10 rebounds) was receiving Most Valuable Player honors.
“He’s so tough. He’s under control – most of the time – has good size to him, shoots the ball well, and sees the floor,” Brown said of his sophomore. “When it’s all said and done, his name will go down as one of the best ever to come out of this city. I can tell you that right now.”
St. Mary’s couldn’t have done it without the ever-so-confident Kyle Rush (15 points), either. The sharpshooter connected five times from downtown, sparking a comeback as the Spartans didn’t take their first lead until the tailend of the third quarter.
“He’s a confident shooter and spends a lot of time on his jumpshot,” Brown said. “He took some tough ones and knocked them down. That’s for sure.”
St. Mary’s also received contributions from Devell Pamplin (13 first-half points).
But it was never easy, especially early.
“In the first quarter, they took it to us. They took advantage of our matchups, executed, and got the ball to their big guy (Ederick Gonzalez),” Brown said. “They forced us into bad shots. What were we down by, 15?”
Just about. Tech led 19-6 after one and 26-24 by halftime behind Andy Batista (13 points), Giovanni Jean (12), and Gonzalez.
“We played our game and didn’t let them dictate,” Bingham said. “We were passing the ball, trapping, and all over the place. Then, in the second half, we got down on each other and they (Spartans) came up. It was a switch of the tides.”
Gonzalez was everywhere to start the game. In the first quarter alone, he made baskets around the rim, rebounded, and dished a no-look, shuffle pass to Jayden Welch for an easy layup.
“The atmosphere was there – almost like an early playoff game,” Bingham said. “Some games, you would just like to have back, but with the kids’ effort, that’s all I can really ask for as a coach.”
Foul trouble plagued the Tigers, too, just like Brown hoped heading in.
“We got their big players off the court,” Brown said. “They go for a lot of blocks [and] they go for a lot of steals. We were hoping the fouls would be called.”
