LYNN — The Lynn English bleachers were packed Thursday with students, alumni, and fans of good, old-fashioned basketball. In a back-and-forth showdown, Lynn Classical (6-1) escaped with a 70-65 win against the Bulldogs (1-7).
But going into the fourth quarter, Classical trailed 58-48. The Rams’ seniors stepped up, however, with DJ Reynolds scoring eight of his 15 in the fourth. Shyheim Babb scored five of his 19 in the final eight minutes.
“Stay together and be disciplined,” said Classical coach Marvin Avery. “Our defense and our seniors stepped up. Crosstown rivals and records mean nothing. My kids dug in and we fought hard tonight.”
Reynolds stepped up offensively, getting to the rim and finishing layups in transition, while Deshawn Rucker stepped up his defense, constantly jumping passing lanes and recording steals.
“What can I say about DJ and Deshawn? They stepped up when we needed them to,” Avery said. “Our big guy, Shyheim, always comes ready to play. It was a good team effort and we’re now 6-1.”
Classical went on a 7-0 run late, which was capped by an offensive rebound from Babb followed by a score — plus the foul — to give the Rams a 61-59 advantage.
With the game tied 63-63 with just more than two minutes remaining, Rucker made a layup to make it 65-63 and the Rams didn’t look back. Classical went on a 6-0 run to make it a two-possession game, then closed things out at the free-throw line.
First-year English coach Dina Wavezwa liked what he saw from his young team. His Bulldogs trailed 16-7 in the first quarter. Then, in the second, they went on a 14-3 run to end halftime after Isaac Yankey (23 points) hit a floater just before the buzzer to give English a 31-30 lead at the break. Raneybi Coste Rosario scored eight of his 18 points in the second quarter to help power the Bulldogs.
“They showed heart. We were down double-digits at one point,” Wavezwa said. “We showed a lot of heart to come back and take the lead.”
Classical never wavered, despite playing in a hostile environment. It was the experience that got the Rams over the line, according to Avery.
“I told them to keep our composure. We’ve been there before. Basketball is a game of runs,” he said. “When you have experience like us, anything can happen. Our senior leadership carried us in the second half.”
Wavezwa recognized the size mismatch.
“We knew they were bigger than us. For the most part, we just wanted to play them tough and double Shy as much as we can and try to box out,” Wavezwa said. “I want them to know that we can play with anybody. We’re just getting used to one another. This is a good building-block game. We’re going to get there.”
For Avery, his Rams have six wins and he knows this game will help them come tournament time.
“This was a state tournament environment. This will help us get ready for down the road,” he said. “This was a big game and they brought a crowd — we loved it.”
The Rams travel to Somerville Tuesday at 7 p.m., while English heads to Chelsea the same night at 6 p.m.
