LYNN — If there was a night that the English boys basketball team could have faltered in the still-young season, Tuesday was it.
The Bulldogs had three players, two of them starters, on the shelf due to illness. Shots weren’t falling. And they were up against a good Medford team that vowed to play with them, shot for shot, step for step, and — if need be — bump for bump.
Still, English passed this test with a 62-53 win. The victory wouldn’t have been possible were it not for senior co-captain Tyrese Melo Garcia, who poured in 33 points — 23 of them in the second half when English seized control of the game and managed to stave off the Mustangs.
“That’s the type of player he is,” said Bulldogs coach Alvin Abreu. “He has the talent to take over a game like he did tonight.”
Like the rest of the team, Melo Garcia wasn’t getting a thing from outside. He persevered, but very little fell. At halftime, Abreu gave him a little pep talk.
“I told him that if the shots aren’t falling, then drive to the basket,” he said. “Once he gets up a head of steam, he has momentum.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying on the part of Medford. Coach John Skerry tried everything, including a box-and-one defense with Medford players taking turns ball-hawking him. Nothing worked. Skerry was looking for players to take charges all night long, but Abreu and the Bulldogs were wise to it.
“Melo has the ability to avoid doing that,” Abreu said.
The Mustangs refused to go away the entire night. English would jump out by a few points, and just when it looked as if the Bulldogs were going to run away, there was Medford sticking in a hoop or two to close the gap.
It started early, with English jumping out to an 11-4 lead after a very slow first quarter. But before the Bulldogs could rest on their laurels, it was 11-11, thanks to a hoop by Owen Kelly and two from Anthony Teixeira-Kruger (including a three-pointer). It went back and forth for the rest of the half, with English clawing its way to a 22-18 edge.
Even after three quarters, English could only get its lead up to seven points (43-36). Melo Garcia scored nine of his points in the period, but the rest of the team’s offense sputtered.
But when Jesse Maggs and Melo Garcia scored back-to-back hoops to start the fourth quarter, making the score 46-36, English appeared to finally be in the clear. But Medford hung tough. English got the lead up to 15 (55-40) but Medford was always there to keep it close. It was a game right up until there were about two minutes to go.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said Abreu, “but you have to find a way to win those. We did tonight. But we had too many of our guys trying to do their own thing.”
English (3-0) is back in action Tuesday (5:15) for the opening round of the Walter Boverini Tournament against St. Mary’s.