The top-ranked St. Mary’s boys basketball team faced a scare during Friday evening’s Division 3 showdown against No. 33 Falmouth inside of the Tony C. Gymnasium.
But in the end, you could say good teams know how to win. Coach David Brown’s Spartans trailed, 40-39, with 3:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, but rattled off a 12-0 run to escape in a 51-42 final.
June Vasquez (15 points), JJ Martinez (12), and Jake Fortier (11) led the offense for St. Mary’s, which takes on Lynn Classical in next week’s Sweet 16 (TBD).
BOYS BASKETBALL
Apponequet 58
Swampscott 55
Division 3 action saw No. 11 Swampscott drop a home-game heartbreaker to No. 22 Apponequet. It was a back-and-forth battle, but the visitors left victorious behind clutch shooting in the closing moments.
Leading the Big Blue were Teddy O’Neill (27 points, 5 assists) and Connor Chiarello (20 points), a duo that produced from beginning to end this winter.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Norton 50
Lynn Classical 37
Trailing by just three points (23-20) at halftime and six points (37-31) after three quarters, the No. 41 Lady Rams gave it their all against No. 9 Norton, which lived to see another day in Division 3. Leading the way for Classical (14-8) were Keisha Perez (14 points) and Divine Egbuta (6 points, 17 rebounds).
Classical’s three seniors – Perez, Nevaeh Eth (4 points), and Savannah Tang (3) – “played outstanding in their final Classical game,” according to Coach Tom Sawyer.
“I’m proud of the effort. We came down here and competed,” Sawyer said. “We played to the final whistle and the girls represented themselves and Lynn Classical well.”
BOYS HOCKEY
Marblehead 4
Dracut-Tyngsboro 2
Two third-period goals did the trick against No. 9 Dracut-Tyngsboro, and the No. 8 Headers advanced to the next round in Division 3. Marblehead goal-scorers were Hayden Gallo, E.J. Wyman, Kyle Hart, and Crew Monaco.
St. John’s Prep 7
Natick 1
The Prep, ranked No. 2 in Division 1, took down No. 15 Natick behind two goals apiece from Chris DiBella and Sam Croke. AJ Farese played well behind the pipes for the Eagles, who look to defend their state championship crown.
