St. Mary’s passes semifinal test
If there ever was such a thing as a ‘golden era’ for high school sports, you’d have to argue that St. Mary’s (Lynn) is in the midst of one.
Pick any of its teams. Football, girls basketball, girls hockey, you name it. Across seemingly all sports, the Spartans have continued to add pieces of hardware to their decorated trophy case in recent years.
Let’s not forget boys hoops. Senior forward Omri Merryman finished with 17 points to go with five rebounds Wednesday, as second-seeded St. Mary’s clinched a trip to the Div. 3 championship for a second straight season by rallying for a 58-47 victory over No. 3 Old Rochester at Quincy High School.
“We were just confident that once we switched up the defense, we’d be alright,” Merryman said. “We were confident in ourselves, and our capabilities. We weren’t too fazed, but it was definitely nerve-wracking at first.”
The Spartans (19-7) also received a boost from senior captain David Brown (14 points, six rebounds, five assists), but struggled mightily to find a collective rhythm in the initial stages of the game. Senior guard Jacob Smith buried an early three-pointer, helping Old Rochester (21-4) jump out to a 9-2 lead with 4:42 left in the opening frame.
“Got to give them credit,” St. Mary’s coach David Brown said. “First half, we tried to run our run-and-jump pressure. They spaced us out very well. Every time we sent a double-team, they reversed the ball, got it to the open guy, and they knocked down shots. They knocked some big shots down early.”
Yet, every single time it appeared the Bulldogs were about to pull away, St. Mary’s reeled itself back into contention. After seizing their first lead at 24-23 in the waning minutes of the half, the Spartans attempted to take one final shot before the buzzer. Senior Derick Coulanges spotted Merryman open in the corner. The forward proceeded to launch a prayer.
“That was huge, that shot at the buzzer,” Brown said. “It was great execution. We wanted to hold it for one final shot. I heard the crowd counting it down, I didn’t think we were going to get it off.”
The ball dropped right through the net in a swift motion, and the crowd erupted into pandemonium as the
Spartans seized a 27-23 advantage at the half.
Old Rochester pulled within 34-33 following a successful and-one sequence turned in by Smith with just under two minutes remaining in the third, but could not close the gap any further. The Spartans proceeded to outscore the Bulldogs 22-14 in the final stanza.
Nick Sacco also had a great outing for St. Mary’s, racking up 10 points to go with eight boards.
Old Rochester was propelled by junior forward Robert Spenard (12 points, nine rebounds) and senior captain Liam Geraghty (10 points).
St. Mary’s will now attempt to capture its second straight Div. 3 title this weekend. It will not be an easy feat to accomplish, as the Spartans will take on top-seeded Archbishop Williams for it all.
The Catholic Central League rivals last met Feb. 3, with the Bishops winning a 78-77 thriller.
“That’s our league opponent,” said Brown. “They beat us earlier in the year at home at the buzzer. We’re going to expect a dogfight. They have some tremendous basketball players. They have a great coach in Brian Holden, who I have a lot of respect for. We’re going to watch some film, figure it out. Hopefully, we can have a great game come.”