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St. Mary’s girls, boys punch Elite 8 tickets

Mark Aboyoun

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LYNN — It was a busy night on Tremont Street as the St. Mary’s girls and boys basketball teams defended home court and advanced to the Elite 8 of the Division 2 state tournament.

The girls opened the double-header against Catholic Central League rival No. 14 Archbishop Williams at the Tony C. Gymnasium. Despite a slow start, the Spartans pulled away for a 69-51 win.

St. Mary’s struggled offensively early and had trouble finding rhythm. Archbishop Williams built a 16-6 lead and was ahead by seven entering the second quarter.

The Spartans trailed 24-21 at halftime but looked like a different team after the break, using a dominant third quarter to take control.

“I thought we were a little bit too excited to play. I think at the end of the first half, the fact we were only down three after what happened, it was probably a good sign,” St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said. “The first 90 seconds of the second half were really good.”

To open the third, Sysy Emmanuel (22 points) scored on a steal of the inbound pass, and Charleigh Green followed with another steal and layup to spark a quick 4-0 run. Emmanuel later was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws for a 7-0 run.

“Coming out of the locker room I felt that everyone was able to take a deep breath and we kind of knew we were going to be alright. There was a brand new sense that we had to dig in and create easy shots,” Newhall said. 

St. Mary’s pressure forced turnovers and easy baskets, and the Spartans outscored the Bishops 27-11 in the third to take a 48-35 lead into the fourth.

Newhall praised his guards for turning up the pressure making it hard for the Bishops to get the ball over halfcourt. 

“I thought Janae [Holmes] was really big in the second half with the ball pressure. Then she starts scoring and she gets into the flow of the game,” Newhall said. “Lina [Owumi] always brings us energy and then Sky [Watson], too. We were turning them over and immediately attacking and finishing which I don’t think we were doing a great job in the first half.” 

St. Mary’s closed out the game by winning the fourth quarter 21-16.

In the boys game, the No. 1 Spartans defeated No. 16 Foxborough 81-54 behind 20 points from Jake Fortier and 18 from Rolky Brea-Arias.

St. Mary’s started quickly, building a 13-5 lead after a 3-pointer from Gabriel Makuwa-Sykes. The Spartans pushed the margin to 22-11 when Brea-Arias forced a turnover, advanced the ball and found John Chareas for a 3-pointer.

“I thought the guys were focused and ready to play. I thought we did a decent job defensively on them,” St. Mary’s coach Josh Keilty said. “They’re really well coached and they ran some really good stuff. They made it tough on us. I don’t think we shot it that great, but I know we got good shots and got it done.”

St. Mary’s led 42-25 at halftime. 

Foxborough hit three straight 3-pointers in the second half to trim the deficit, but St. Mary’s answered each time. Rowan Merryman scored 16 points, including a corner three that helped restore momentum.

Brea-Arias and Fortier proved difficult to contain, each finding his spots while creating opportunities for teammates.

“They’re a great one-two punch,” Keilty said. “Jake obviously has the speed and quickness, but having Rolky bring the ball up, get him in the post — and he’s a really good passer — allows us to play kind of a simple game. They’re hard to stop, especially when you surround them with shooters.”

The Lady Spartans will face the No. 6 Walpole in the next round with the time and date TBD, while the boys will play the winner of No. 8 Chicopee Comprehensive/No. 9 Newburyport which tips off on Tuesday. 

 

  • Mark Aboyoun

    Mark Aboyoun is a New Jersey born sports writer at The Daily Item. Aboyoun is a graduate of Saint Joseph's University '18 and went on to earn his Juris Doctor at Western New England School of Law in 2021.

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