Hub hoops finals all set
TechBoston next up for Brighton
Brighton coach Hugh Coleman looked to his marquee players to come through when it mattered most.
And in the semifinals of the Boston City League tournament against
O’Bryant yesterday, junior guard Mykel Derring answered the call.
Derring scored 14 of his gamehigh 26 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Bengals on a 15-0 run over the final 2:10 of regulation to take down the Tigers, 77-64, at Madison Park.
“We know what he’s capable of,” Coleman said. “He’s been doing that since he was a freshman in terms of shooting the ball and it’s confidence. In the crunch time, he didn’t blink. He took those shots with pure confidence.”
O’Bryant (15-6) led late in the fourth quarter, 64-62, after a basket from Rivaldo Soares (20 points), but couldn’t withstand Derring’s onslaught.
Derring got started by putting Brighton (16-5) in front, 65-64, on a put-back with 1:55 left.
After struggling from beyond the arc all game, he then knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and threw down two dunks to give him 12 points over the final two minutes to help Brighton win going away.
The Bengals also received a big boost from Tyrone Perry, who scored 15 of his 18 points in the third quarter. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Brighton will face TechBoston (15-4) in the BCL championship today (5 p.m.) after the Bears defeated New Mission, 64-53, in the other semifinal. TechBoston last won a BCL title in 1987.
The Bears led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter behind a stingy defensive effort and a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds from Walter Dew-Hollins, before holding off a late New Mission (14-5) charge.
“We like to force the tempo,” said TechBoston coach Johny Williams. “(We played) as a team and help defense is there. If we play as a team, I think we’re one of the harder teams to beat in all of (Division 2).”
Shamar Browder contributed 15 points for TechBoston.