Boston Warrior AAU Boy's Basketball: Warrior News: Boston Warrior Bi-Weekly Player Update - Papas wins 400th, Wat/Lex, CM/Brockton
400th win for Papas
The Lowell SunUpdated: 12/31/2008 06:39:38 AM ESTBurlington High boys basketball coach Nick Papas collected his 400th career victory last night as the Red Devils stayed undefeated by topping host Reading, 62-50, during Middlesex League action.
Papas coached seven seasons at Minuteman Tech in Lexington and 16 seasons at Melrose before taking the post at Burlington, where he's in his ninth season. Burlington 62 Reading 50 Senior forward Matt Trahan registered 22 points and 12 rebounds to power Burlington (5-0). Burlington, which trailed 29-27 at halftime, also received outstanding games from Zach Hurynowicz (13 points, 6 assists), Justin Fico (10 points, 4 steals) and Brendan Farley (9 points, 8 rebounds). Burlington connected on 20 of 31 free throws.
January 9th, 2009
BROCKTON-CM RECAP
It would have been hard for anything to expect Brockton and Catholic Memorial to duplicate last year’s classic (won by Brockton 91-90 on a buzzer-beater by Herald Dream Teamer Kyle Gerry), but they came awfully close.
For the third time in five years, these two powers put on another show for the fans in attendance. As was the case a year ago, the Boxers prevailed, 85-83, on a pair of huge buckets by Louis Montes (23 points, 18 rebounds) in the final 1:18. After struggling a year ago to round into form after a leg injury, the 6-foot-3 swingman is back to the form he displayed as a sophomore when he earned Herald All-Scholastic honors.
Montes had to be tough because CM forward Allen Harris was unstoppable once again. Having played a supporting role to Brendan Monteiro and Julian Colarusso last year, the 6-4 senior has exploded this season. In last night’s game, Harris torched Brockton to the tune of 40 points, making 15-of-26 shots from the field. No matter who Brockton coach Bob Boen put on Harris, he was either quick or too tall.
And don’t forget am unsung play made by Rondell Best at the end. With Brockton clinging to its 2-point lead with 11.5 seconds left in the game (4 seconds left on the shot clock), the Boxers inbounded the ball at midcourt. The entry pass was deflected and bounced out of bounds, giving Brockton possession under its own basket. Unfortunately, the clock never started, forcing the officials to meet for a moment before deciding to give Brockton the ball with 9.5 seconds left.
A long inbounds pass appeared headed out of bounds, which would have given CM possession under the Boxer basket with those same 9.5 seconds remaining. But a hustling Rondell Best (10 points, 7 rebounds) was able to get the ball and flung a shot at the hoop. Although the shot didn’t hit the rim and forced the shot clock to expire, his ability to put his hands on the ball forced CM to inbounds from under its own hoop, leading to Houston’s heroics.
SOME PARTING COMMENTS
CATHOLIC MEMORIAL: We all know Harris is one of the top players around and senior point guard Jeff Tagger (16 points) is a seasoned veteran, but for the Knights to be a major player in D2, they will need a third weapon to step up. That happened last night as swingman Dan Brooks contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, while center Bomani Simmonds-Jennings came off the bench to add seven points and eight caroms. If they are all clicking as they were last night, CM has a good shot of defending its title.
BROCKTON: Like CM, Brockton features a solid 1-2 punch in Montes and Jarrad DeVaughn (18 points, seven rebounds). Tim Young (15 points, four treys) has terrific long-range ability, while Houston and Shawn Yard are as extremely quick guards. Brockton coach Bob Boen received terrific mileage from his three bigs (Best, Michael Neufville and Bryan Raymond) as they combined for 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Connor Stockdale had one field goal in the game, but it’s one the sophomore won’t soon forget.
The 6-foot-3 forward converted a terrific feed from Benyam Kerman into the game-winning basket with 28.7 left as Watertown overcame a pair of second-half deficit to defeat Lexington, 52-49, in a Middlesex League battle of unbeatens last night. Stockdale also scored the final point when he banked in the front end of two free throws with 9.9 seconds left.
This was hardly an offensive masterpiece as both teams scuffled mightily from the field. Both teams shots roughly 31 percent from the field (Watertown was 18-of-58 and Lexington was 17-for-55), so when Lexington opened up a 38-27 lead late in the third quarter, things looked bleak for Watertown.
But the Raiders dialed up Dr. Longball and finally got an answer. Having made just four of 22 from beyond the arc, Watertown knocked down three straight from trifecta town (two from Marco Coppola and one from Ricky Morrissey) to get a pulse entering the final quarter.
Even with All-Scholastic forward Danny O’Keefe (four points, 13 rebounds) going through a rare off-night from the field, the Minutemen seemed to have things under control when Mike Igoe (a game-high 15 points) hit a 3-ball to stretch the lead to 47-40 with less than four minutes left.
Watertown, however, had other things in mind. Kyle Stockmal finally got going, tallying seven of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter, but the two biggest plays came from Kerman. The senior guard was less than stellar (1-for-16) in the first 28 minutes, earning a spot on the bench for a few minutes.
Kerman responded to the bench by turning in two huge plays down the stretch. He picked Lance Greene clean and went in for a solo layup to slice the deficit to 47-44. Then, with the score tied at 49-49, Kerman was able to break down the Lexington defense and feed Stockdale for the game-winner.
It says a lot for Watertown that it was able to go into a hostile environment, missing nearly seven of 10 shots from the field, get outrebounded by nine (39-30) and still survive against a quality opposition. Lexington coach Bob Farias summed it up pretty nicely long after the game ended.
“Steve’s (Watertown coach Steve Harrington) got a lot of tough kids over there,” said Farias. “They were a lot tougher than we were tonight, that’s why they won the game.”
Anyone in attendance would have found it tough to disagree with Farias’ assessment.
School Roundup: English stays unbeaten with win over Everett
After getting off to a slow start against Everett on Sunday at the Paul F. Cavanagh Field House, the Lynn English boys basketball team woke up and showed why it is one of the top-ranked Division 1 teams in Eastern Mass.The Bulldogs broke open an eight-point game entering the fourth quarter, and, led by Archie Allen's 24 points, took an 80-69 win over the Crimson Tide.
EMass Boys Hoop: Kulak powers Wellesley
MetroWest Daily News Posted Jan 06, 2009 @ 11:27 PMJunior guard Evan Kulak had 30 points as host Wellesley topped Bay State Conference foe Natick, 74-56.Senior point guard Joel Pollick had 15 points for the Raiders (3-4, 1-4), who got a rare five-point play from Kulak. The junior was fouled on a made 3-pointer, and a technical foul on the play gave him two free throws.
Belmont 48, Woburn 36
Last winter, the Belmont High boys basketball team walked out of the Woburn High gymnasium with a lot to think about – and none of it good – after suffering a 75-41 loss to the Tanners.What a difference a year can make.The Marauders, behind a great performance from its frontcourt and stifling defense, came out of that Senior center Montezuma Goodwin led all scorers with 18 points, including a two-handed slam in the closing seconds to punctuate the big win. Goodwin also had nine rebounds. Junior forward Andrew Musler finished with a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds), while senior forward Anthony Paolillo had 12 points and six boards.
For Woburn, sophomore center Nick Lund pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked five shots to go with six points.
Goodwin, Musler lead the way for boys basketball team
By Michael Liuzza Wed Jan 07, 2009, 06:21 PM EST
Belmont, Mass. - It’s always good too see an action-packed, competitive high school basketball game early on in the winter season. That’s exactly what the Belmont and Burlington High fans got Tuesday night at the Wenner Field House.A back-and-forth game for most of the way, the Marauders ultimately upended the undefeated Red Devils, 61-56. Belmont got huge games from both Montezuma Goodwin and Andrew Musler. Goodwin poured in game-high 22 points, but was even more valuable under the glass, hauling down 15 rebounds. Meanwhile Musler was just as effective, scoring 21 points while grabbing nineboards. Anthony Paolillo added 11 rebounds and Nick Destefano contributed eight points, including two three-pointers. “That’s a very good team we just beat,” said Marauder coach Adam Pritchard. “They’re a tough team, they’re well-coached and they have some talented senior players. We were fortunate tonight. Zach Hurynowicz netted a team-high 18 points. Matt Trahan added 12 points and seven rebounds and Justin Fico contributed eight points.Also scoring seven points for Burlington was Brendan Farley.
Wakefield 68, Belmont 63
This one was a surprise.Despite getting a game-high 29 points from Andrew Musler, the Marauders lost to Wakefield last Tuesday, 68-63, at BHS. Marcus Papas and Anthony Paolillo both chipped in with nine points apiece.
Shane Taylor netted a team-high 14 points for Wakefiled.
Acton-Boxboro 78 Waltham 71
A pair of senior guards went on scoring rampages and Acton-Boxboro outscored Waltham, 22-10, in the third quarter after trailing by 1 at the half. Kyle Curry had a career-high 30 points for the Colonials, and his classmate Brett Miller dropped in 24 points. Senior forward Alex Kastrinelis also played very well on defense and finished with 5 points and 7 rebounds.
Westford 59 Boston Latin 56
Westford (1-0) knocked off DCL Large School Division rival Boston Latin in the Grey Ghosts' home opener. Boston Latin held a 5-point edge with less than 3 minutes to play, but Westford got strong defense and clutch foul shooting. Senior co-captain Peter Lynch scored a game-high 22 points to go with 7 rebounds.
Burlington 70 Melrose 53
The Red Devils (2-0) exploded for 48 first-half points -- the most in a half for more than a decade -- building a commanding 20-point lead on the way to the Middlesex League home triumph. Sophomore guard Zach Hurynowicz poured through a game- and career-high 24 points for Burlington, while also handing out 8 assists, while Matt Trahan contributed 13 points, 9 rebounds, Brendan Farley 13 points and Justin Fico 9.
Austin Prep 39 Williams 31
Senior guard Dan Higgins tossed in a game-high 14 points for Austin, while also collecting 8 rebounds, while Ryan Havey had 7 points, senior guard Andre Mayer of Billerica 8 boards and junior forward Matt Van Liere 8 rebounds.
Boys Basketball: Weston rolls past Wayland in OT
Bashir Hudson had 24 points, including eight in overtime, along with six rebounds and four steals as Weston took overtime to defeat visiting Wayland, 65-55, in a Dual County League game last night.. Alex Levine had nine points and nine boards for Weston.Mike Synodis led Wayland (0-2) with 15 points.
LINCOLN-SUDBURY 66, TYNGSBORO 44:
Mitch Perez had 13 points to lead Lincoln-Sudbury past visiting Tyngsboro in Dual County League action.Perez hit 3-of-4 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to pace the Warriors (1-1 DCL) while junior guard Billy Bereszniewicz had eight points in the win.
NEEDHAM 55, WELLESLEY 39: Senior guard Joel Pollick poured in 20 points, but it couldn't prevent host Wellesley from dropping a Bay State Conference contest to Needham.
Boys Basketball:
Winthrop breaks the Saugus jinx
Saugus was a little stubborn, and Winthrop was a little sloppy, but in the end, it all worked out for the Vikings.Winthrop, 7-1, pulled ahead in the second half of last night's game and waltzed to a 61-43 victory - its first victory at Saugus High in nine years, according to coach Dave Brown.
The big gun for the Vikings was Dino Mallios, who popped in 30 points - easily the game high. Jake Connors and Mike Jenkins had 10 points each to help the cause.
Lynnfield 56, Triton 41
At Lynnfield, John Mehr had 20 points and 12 rebounds, with Matt Connolly scoring 10 while handing out 11 assists, as the Pioneer raised their record to 4-2.
Cathedral 71, Fenwick 67
At Peabody, Mike Clifford had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Crusaders, who suffered their first loss of the season. Nolan DiPanfilo added 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while Nick Cotoia and Phil Eagan had 11 points each.
Bridgewater-Raynham 64, Beverly 57
At Bridgewater, the Panthers (2-4) got off to a slow start and it proved costly as they couldn't overcome a seven-point halftime deficit.
Curtis Manuel had a career-high 21 points to lead the Beverly offense, which also got 11 points from Nate Knudson. Justin Reese added seven points and 11 rebounds.
Littleton 68 Worcester Voke 46
James Williamson tossed in a game-high 17 points as five players reached double figures for the Tigers (4-1) in this consolation game. Mac Hanlon also had 13 points, Greg Moodie 12, Pat Donnelly 10 and Chris McDonald 10.
Beverly 71, Winthrop 57
At Beverly, the Panthers (3-4) had a 35-20 halftime lead trimmed to four points after three quarters but held the fort in the final minutes to beat the Vikings.
Curtis Manuel continued his stellar play, recording 21 points for the second consecutive game. Nate Knudson added 15 points and 10 rebounds while Mike Clayton chipped in 10 for Beverly.
Winthrop was led by a game-high 23 points from Dino Mallios and 10 points from Gavin Mahoney.
Fenwick 63, Williams 42
At Peabody, Mike Clifford's 23 points and 17 rebounds led the way as the Crusaders (6-1) rebounded from Sunday's loss to Cathedral with a solid win.
"We really picked it up in the second half," Fenwick coach Mike Kane said. "Williams stayed with us for a half and then we picked it up a notch."
Nolan DiPanfilo added 19 for Fenwick while Nick Cotoia had 11 points, six assists and four steals.
