RallyNorth.net

Top-seeded Lynn English outlasts Lawrence

Friday, March, 01 By By Bill Burt
Staff writer

LYNN — The Lawrence High boys basketball team gave it the old Merrimack Valley Conference try. But it wasn't enough. Not in Lynn. Not against a team built to contend for a state championship.
Top-seeded Lynn English High, 19-2, finally broke away from the Lawrence High, outscoring them by 13 points in the fourth quarter en route to the 82-63 win in the Div. 1 North quarterfinals.
"I knew they'd be tough," said Lynn English coach Antonio Anderson. "I told our team, they will be around for 32 minutes so be ready to fight. Our key guys Alonzo (Linton) and Jarnel (Guzman) came through for us in the fourth quarter. And some of our other guys did, too. They had to or we could've lost this one."
Other than a quick 2-2 tie just 40 seconds into the game, the Bulldogs never trailed. In fact, they jumped out quickly to a 16-8 lead, ready to run.
But through three quarters, the Lancers never wavered.
Trailing 33-31, they had two chances to go ahead, but both 3-pointers were short.
Thanks to a technical foul at the end of the first half — a Lynn English player threw the ball at a Lawrence player — the Lancers made both free throws and closed the gap to 38-37, with the ball.
Slowly, though, the 6-foot-6 Linton, who had no physical match on Lawrence, scored five straight points, opening up the lead.
He was aided by a pair of driving Guzman lay-ins and two 3-pointers by Joaquin Crespo.
Lawrence's Brandon Goris (16 points), Brian Martir (22) and Jaden Castillo (13) all made key shots through the first three quarters to keep it close.
But after Lawrence closed it to 60-57 in the fourth quarter after a Jeremiah Melendez 3-pointer and Martir free throw, it missed an open 3-pointer to tie the game.
The Bulldogs answered scoring 11 straight points, including a 3-pointer and two three-point-plays, to put the Lancers away.
"We just couldn't get over the hump," said Lawrence coach Jesus Moore. "We played them tough for so long. But our immaturity showed, not making the extra pass when a guy is wide open, late on our rotations leaving a guy wide open, and then fouling their 3-point shooter.
"We had one guy who played a decent amount of varsity last year, Jaden Castillo," said Moore. "Their veterans made the big plays, they're crafty, slashing to the hoop."
Underneath the beads of sweat after the game, Moore, in his first year, was beaming with pride of his 15-7 Lawrence team.
"We have bigger goals down the road and this was a great start," said Moore. "I remember seeing these guys at Hoops For Home in Andover and seeing how far they came, without much experience. But we fought all year. We play in the best conference, top to bottom, in the state. We thought we could beat these guys, but tip your cap to them."

Bulldogs coach Anderson said Lawrence High is a team to watch going forward.

"Jesus is a great coach and you can tell by the way his guys fought for him," said Anderson, whose team plays the winner of Sunday's Andover at Boston Latin game. "Lawrence is always good. They're going to be a power again real soon. Man, they are not easy to play."