LYNN — The No. 8 Lynn Tech boys basketball team got off to a slow start Wednesday night in its state Division 4 Round of 16 game.
But fear not. Whatever Tech struggled with in the first two quarters of a 59-49 win over No. 9 Manchester-Essex, the Tigers corrected in the final two quarters.
That wasn’t just because Coach Corey Bingham gave his players some pointed instructions, the main one being “play Lynn Tech basketball.” There was also the matter of his team being ice cold from beyond the arc. The Tigers couldn’t buy a basket.
That all changed in the third quarter, when Giovanni Jean poured in nine of his 13 points, taking Tech from a two-point halftime deficit to a 43-39 lead.
“Those first two or three minutes of the third quarter are real important to us,” Bingham said. “That was the turning point of the game for us – the way we came out and took over the game. In the first half, I felt as if we were playing their game. In the second half, we played our game.”
The Tigers will be sorely tested Friday in the Round of 8 at Madison Park in Boston against No. 1 Albert Holland School of Technology, formerly the Jeremiah Burke School in Boston.
There were heroes aplenty for the Tigers Wednesday. Start with Jean, who not only took over the game by filling the net, but was also busy under the Hornets’ hoop as well. He pulled down 11 rebounds and initiated many fastbreaks. He had help on the boards, as sophomore Ulices Diaz had nine rebounds.
Andy Batista and Travis Sanchez shared high-scoring duties with 14 apiece.
But Bingham saved some praise for junior center Johan Plaza, who looks as if he’d be at home on the offensive/defensive lines for the football team. He subbed for Diaz at the beginning of the third quarter, and stayed in for most of the rest of the game. He only had four points, but took up space with his big body, making things a bit easier for his teammates in what they’d call in hockey “a close checking game.”
“He was on the floor when we got going,” Bingham said. “I liked what I saw of him. He listens, and knows what he’s supposed to be doing out there.”
The game got off to a slow start, with both teams lukewarm at best from the floor. The Hornets led by nine (17-9) after a quarter, but the Tigers whittled that lead down to two (27-25) at the break.
Tech finally found the range in the third quarter, with Jean leading the way, and the Tigers were up four (43-39) going into the fourth quarter.
It was all Tigers in the final eight minutes, as they outscored the Hornets, 16-10.
