FILE PHOTO
Javonte Edwards and the No. 14 Lynn English boys basketball team will visit No. 3 Central Catholic on Tuesday night.
By HAROLD RIVERA
The MIAA boys basketball state tournament pairings were released on Friday, and all four Lynn teams will compete for a shot at a state title.
In Division 1 North, English (10-9), the No. 14 seed, will visit No. 3 Central Catholic on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs boast a talented nucleus led by Tommy Rijo and Ivy Lopes. Javonte Edwards is a strong presence in the paint and gives English a boost when he knocks down his mid-range jump shot. Calvin Seng runs the offense and is capable of catching fire from the three at anytime. English qualified for the tournament with a win in its final game of the season at Swampscott.
In Division 2 North, Classical (18-3) drew the third seed and will host No. 14 Salem on Monday night. The Rams finished the season with three wins a row, giving coach Tom Grassa a reason to feel his team is coming into the state tournament on a good note.
“The fact that we’re coming off a win against Marblehead has to be helpful,” Grassa said. “We beat Beverly, English and Marblehead to give us three wins in four days to end the season. That should certainly give us some momentum coming into the tournament.”
Salem is no stranger to Classical. The two talented Northeastern Conference teams battled it out earlier in the season, with the Rams grabbing a 54-43 win.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Grassa said of the Witches. “They’re probably the best three-point shooting team, maybe in the league. They were down 20 points to Marblehead and managed to cut that down to two points in the fourth quarter.”
Salem boasts a handful of talented outside shooters, meaning the Rams will have to be strong on defense to get the win.
“They can be an explosive team,” Grassa said. “It’s easy to defend a team that has one shooter. They have five guys on the perimeter that can hit three-pointers.”
After being knocked out of last season’s tournament in the first round with a loss at Arlington, Classical is coming in hungry this time around.
“We certainly do not want to get knocked out in the first round,” Grassa said. “I think getting beat by Arlington last year may serve as a heavy motivational point to survive.”
In Division 3, Tech drew the No. 15 seed and visits No. 2 Newburyport on Monday. The Tigers (7-13) finished the season on a four-game win streak and clinched the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Small in the process. Coach Stevie Patrick said his team is feeling good after achieving the goals it set in the preseason.
“We did everything we said we were going to do,” Patrick said. “We won the CAC, we’re in the state tournament, and we have a few players who might be all-stars.”
Patrick said the team’s solid ending is a good sign moving into the tournament.
“We’re coming in with a four-game winning streak,” Patrick said. “I don’t think we can ask for anything better. We’ve been practicing extremely hard.”
The Tigers didn’t play against Newburyport during the regular season, but Patrick scouted the Clippers last week and came away impressed.
“I had a feeling we were going to be playing them so I watched them a week ago against Mystic Valley,” Patrick said. “They’re smart, they play together very well and they have athleticism. They’re similar to us and they play together.”
In Division 4, St. Mary’s, the No. 3 seed, has a first-round bye. The Spartans will host the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between No. 6 Maimonides and No. 11 Winthrop on Thursday.
The Spartans are off until Thursday’s game, meaning it’ll be a one-week layoff between games for St. Mary’s. Although some teams prefer to avoid long breaks, the Spartans will use the week to heal up.
“We had some injuries up until a week and a half ago,” St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown said. “We played very well in the Spartan Classic and the consolation game of the Comcast Tournament, so I was pleased to see that.”
Brown added, “We played our last five games in six days. The kids will be able to rest and heal up their injuries. We’ll get some shooting in, some sprints and we’ll be ready to go.”
Brown, who used to coach at Winthrop, said it would be a neat opportunity to clash against the Vikings. A few of Brown’s former players are currently on the Winthrop coaching staff.