LYNN — No. 10 St. Mary’s – coming off its Division 3 Championship appearance against Archbishop Williams last winter – met its match in Friday night’s Round of 32 against No. 23 Dover-Sherborn.
The host Spartans fell in a 47-46 nail-biter that came down to the final shot. JJ Martinez came to play with 26 points, but his running layup was no good with 5.1 seconds remaining in regulation.
“Sometimes, you get caught on a night where you don’t play your A-game,” said St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown. “We just weren’t at our best tonight.”
As for how it got there, a 10-1 Dover-Sherborn run put the visitors ahead, 45-37, with 3:17 remaining.
But Martinez nearly made the Tony C. Gymnasium explode with a layup – through two bodies – to cut the deficit to 47-46.
Rowan Merryman stole the ball right after, but that’s as good as it got for the Spartans.
“We got down late, but the kids never quit,” Brown said. “I’ve got to give it to my kids. They didn’t take a backseat to anybody.”
St. Mary’s finishes the season with a 15-8 record, while Dover-Sherborn heads to the Sweet 16 against No. 7 Apponequet, which hit a game-winner at the buzzer to knock off No. 26 Lowell Catholic, 72-70, Friday night.
“Obviously, tonight was a tough one – first time in 21 years I’ve had a team lose in the first round,” Brown said. “I think these kids overachieved this season. They won the city championship and 16 games… We’re, obviously, going to be shaken up for a few weeks, but the future is bright.”
