LYNN — Monday night’s game against Archbishop Williams presented the St. Mary’s boys basketball team with an opportunity the Spartans didn’t want to sleep on. With a victory over the struggling Bishops, the Spartans would become one of the earliest local teams to cement their bid in the state tournament.
St. Mary’s didn’t let the opportunity linger any longer, taking down Catholic Central League foe Williams, 74-38, at Congiliaro Gymnasium for its 10th victory of the season.
“It’s always nice to get into the state tournament as soon as possible,” St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown said. “We knew we were the better team tonight. We kind of played a little selfish, we had a big lead and sometimes guys play for their stats but we played solid defense and forced a lot of turnovers.”
Leading the way for the Spartans (10-1) was senior forward/guard Stephen Fama with 18 points, while sophomore guard Josh Perez added 15 points. Junior guard Jalen Echevarria and junior forward Chibuikem Onwuogu each finished with seven points. Freshman forward Frankie Imbruglia tallied six points off the bench.
“Stephen had a great game,” Brown said. “It was good to see Josh knock in some shots. We’re doing a good job shooting from there free throw line. We’re shooting at 70 percent from the season and that’s helped us late in tough games. To score 70 points without Jalen or Joey (Abate-Walsh) making a lot of shots, that’s good for the rest of the guys to gain confidence.”
The first half was all St. Mary’s. Perez drained two 3-pointers in the opening period to lead the early charge. The Spartans built a 21-point lead in the closing minutes of the second quarter, before the Bishops whittled the deficit down to 17 with a 4-0 run to close the first half. Williams trailed 33-16 at the midway mark.
“Our defense is making the game a little more uptempo,” Brown said. “That’s getting us easier shots. At the beginning of the year we were averaging around 45 points per game. Since we’ve been getting out in transition and pressing a little bit more, I think we’re averaging 65 (points per game) now. If we can hold teams in the 30s or 40s, that makes it easier.”
After Williams’s Patrick LaVallee hit a basket to start the third quarter, St. Mary’s ran off on a 6-0 spurt to get its lead back to 21 points. Fama knocked in four free throws (two on a tech, two on a personal foul) and Onias Mirbel (five points) swished a jump shot to make it a 39-18 Spartans advantage. The third quarter belonged to Fama, who scored 11 points in the period (five on free throws). Mirbel banked in a 3-pointer and Perez sunk a pair of free throws to cap the quarter. After three, the Spartans led 55-29.
“Stephen’s a 3-year varsity player, 2-year starter,” Brown said. “He’s a point-forward for us. He’s third in points, he leads us in rebounding and I think he’s top three in assists. He does everything in filling in the stat sheets for us.”
St. Mary’s defense closed out the win in the fourth quarter. A pair of Williams turnovers turned into easy lay-ins for Echevarria (one on a nifty assist from Fama) on the other end. Onwuogu swished a pair of freebies and Marvens Rosirus (five points) netted a 3-pointer to make it a 68-34 Spartans lead. From there, the Spartans ran out the clock for the 74-38 win.
With the win, the Spartans remain undefeated in CCL play.
“One of the goals for us was to win the Boverini Tournament,” Brown said. “Obviously we didn’t get that one but the next goal was to win the league. We haven’t won the league since 2015. We still have a lot of work to do. Our next goal is to win a league championship and then get ready for the state tournament.”
St. Mary’s is back in action Friday night (6:30) when the Spartans visit another CCL rival in Arlington Catholic.