LYNN — There was snow falling outside, but inside of Lynn Classical High, the Rams were red hot. No. 6 Classical advanced to the Division 3 Elite 8 with a 55-48 win against No. 22 Stoneham Tuesday night.
The Rams got out to an 8-1 start with DJ Reynolds and Deshawn Rucker knocking down 3-pointers. Stoneham then switched to a zone defense, which stalled the Rams’ offense.
Stoneham ended the opening quarter down five points (12-7).
In the second quarter, Rucker (18 points) had the hot hand. The senior buried three triples against the zone. His final 3-pointer came with less than a minute remaining to give Classical a 28-19 halftime cushion.
Classical coach Marvin Avery spoke highly about Rucker’s performance.
“The young fella is having a great tournament and he doesn’t want to go home,” Avery said. “He works on his game in practice to perfect his craft. What a lot of people don’t see is how great of a leader he is. He plays great defense and with his ability to make plays, he’s hard to stop. His threes helped open the game up for our big guy (Shyheim Babb).”
Stoneham might’ve had the tallest player on the court, but Babb (19 points, 18 rebounds) was the most dominant.
Early in the fourth quarter, Babb followed a missed layup with an emphatic putback dunk to make it 45-34 in favor of the hosts. On the next possession, Kameron Rucker found a cutting Babb, who finished the play — plus the foul — giving the Rams all momentum.
“I’ve got one of the best big men in the state. … He came to play,” Avery said. “When he threw down that dunk, our defense just rolled on with momentum.”
For every shot Stoneham made in the second half, the Rams seemed to have an answer for it.
“This is why you play a tough non-league schedule to get you ready for the tournament,” Avery said. “This isn’t my first rodeo here and my seniors know how to make adjustments. We have plays against zones; we have plays against man-to-man. It’s tough to cover us when we have guys all over the floor with their experience and ability to make plays. Senior leadership goes a long way in the state tournament.”
Classical travels to face No. 3 Tewksbury Memorial in the Elite 8 (TBD).
“I brought Lynn Tech to the Elite 8 and now I’m bringing another Lynn high school to the Elite 8. I’m so proud of the kids and myself,” Avery said.
The Rams may not have home-court advantage anymore, but Avery was proud his team defended it.
“To have home-court advantage in the playoffs is huge. You get your fans, your family, your friends all here. Then, we also have the other Lynn teams coming to support us because that’s what we do in the City of Lynn,” Avery said. “We’re 19-3 and heading to the Elite 8. I’m super proud of the team, my coaching staff, and my administration. We’ll be ready to go, whether it’s Friday or Saturday.”
