LYNN – Despite trailing by 12 midway through the second period, the St. Mary’s boys hoopsters fought back against Winthrop yesterday in the first round of the Spartan Classic in the Conigliaro Gym. The Spartans outlasted the Vikings, 55-48. This sets up a championship contest against Marblehead (4;30 this afternoon) and qualifies St. Mary’s (10-8) for the state tourney.Winthrop’s Mike Visco drilled a three-pointer with 2:14 remaining in the game to move the Vikings to a 44-43 edge. Yet after forward Tade Ogunbona hit a free throw to tie the score, Tyler Grillo (13) connected on a deep three-pointer to give the lead back to the Spartans (47-44).St. Mary’s extended its lead to 49-44 moments later on a putback by Steven Harper off a Grillo miss. Guard Dino Mallios brought the Vikings within three with a pair of free throws, yet guard Mike Puglielli and Grillo added two each from the charity stripe to earn the win.”The key was that in the first half, we didn’t have the same intensity that Winthrop did,” said St. Mary’s coach Kevin Moran. “We went into the second half trying to switch things, and the kids responded.”The Spartans held an 11-8 lead midway through the opening quarter, yet turned cold, as the Vikings (13-5) went on a 15-0 tear that went into the early stages of the second period.”They had that intensity, and we tried to halt it,” said Moran. “We knew they’d (Winthrop) be tough, and we’ve given up runs like that all year. I’m proud of how we responded to it.”St. Mary’s whittled the deficit down to eight (28-20) on a pair of hoops by Grillo. Ogunbona (14 points) dropped a three with just over a minute to go in the half, then added another three right before intermission to bring the Spartans down to two (28-26).St. Mary’s again trailed, 34-31, late in the third, yet hoops by forward Nick Conti and Ogunbona, combined with frigid Vikings shooting, gave St. Mary’s a 35-34 edge headed into the final stanza.Ogunbona extended the advantage back up to five (41-36) with his third and final three-pointer early in the period, but Visco answered with a three of his own, and teammate Mark Jenkins evened the game at 41 off a screen to set up the final heroics.”Tade (Ogunbona) played tremendously,” Moran said of his senior forward. “He had 14 rebounds, and he’s coming out of his shell.”Maillos was Winthrop’s leading scorer with 18, while Visco added 16. The two of them each hit a trio of three-pointers. Puglielli contributed 11 for St. Mary’s.M’head 70, G’town 57In a game played at breakneck speed, the Magicians outlasted the Royals to raise their record to 15-4.Both teams played much of the contest in a full-court press, which led to many turnovers and fouls on each side. Although Marblehead dominated the paint area, Georgetown kept a lead by hitting from the perimeter and at the foul line. The Royals took a 31-27 edge into intermission.From the start of the second half, though, Marblehead’s defensive intensity stepped it up a notch. The Magicians got much of their scoring down low from senior Damola Abu (15 points) and sophomore Tarique Allen (13 points).The Royals kept things close in the fourth quarter, with senior Tim Holland (the game’s high scorer with 18 points) leading the comeback charge. Marblehead responded with some clutch 3-pointers, though, and kept the lead at double digits for the last few minutes of the game.”In the first half they took it to us, but in the second, we had more intensity,” said Marblehead coach Wayne Hanscom. “We broke their press and hit some perimeter shots. We played better (after the break).”