St. M’s holds off Spellman

SCHOOLS

In what felt like a playoff atmosphere between two of the top boys basketball teams in the Catholic Central Large, the ending did not disappoint.

St. Mary’s survived a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to upend Cardinal Spellman, 68-64, last night in Brockton.

“It was nice to see these guys win a tight game on the road again a very good basketball team,” said St. Mary’s coach David Brown. “I have so much respect for that coach over there.”

With a 60-44 advantage heading into the fourth, St.Mary’s (6-1, 4-0) turned the ball over five times to allow Spellman (5-2, 3-1) to tie things up 60-60 on a pair of free throws by senior Admar Jaramillo.

But the Spartans’ confidence was not shaken as they retook the lead on three free throws by junior Joseph Abate-Walsh (22 points, 11 rebounds). The Cardinals did not go away and pulled within 64-63 before St.Mary’s junior Jalen Echevarria hit a 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity with just over 20 seconds remaining.

“I missed the first one and then I was wide open,” said Echevarria. “I was obviously going to shoot it and it felt good coming off my fingertips.”

Echevarria took over the contest in the first half where he scored 21 of his 29 points, including 13 points in the second quarter to help the Spartans outscore the hosts 23-14 and build a 37-28 halftime advantage.

“(Jalen) had a game in that first half,” said Brown. “It was great to see him make some shots.”

Echevarria and Abate-Walsh combined for all 14 St. Mary’s points in the first quarter that, which ended 14-14 after Spellman closed the frame on a 10-4 run thanks to nine points from senior Mike Spencer (team-best 19 points).

George Smith scored 20 points to lead Central Catholic (6-2) past Andover, 7065, in a Merrimack Valley Conference battle.

In a Boston City League matchup, Walter Dew-Hollis finished with 28 points to lead Tech Boston (7-0) to an 88-56 victory against West Roxbury.

Girls hockey

Alexa Graziano scored two goals and added an assist to lead Notre Dame-Hingham (6-2-0) to a 4-0 shutout of Boston Latin.