Braintree pulls rank
Wamps top No. 1 Cathedral
No. 12 Braintree is not used to being the underdog, but it is a role the Wamps welcomed.
SCHOOLS
The defending Division 1 state champions showed that yesterday as Braintree handed No. 1 Cathedral its first loss of the year, battling to a 73-68 overtime victory in the Div. 1 final of the 29th annual IAABO 27 Comcast Dvinci Energy Basketball Tournament in Woburn.
Even though Braintree (16-5) was without its star player in Adriana Timberlake, sophomore Lily Adams and senior Jeniyah Jones filled the missing void as the duo scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the way.
Senior Emma Hume and freshman Hailey Sherrick added a boost off the bench with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
“We definitely used that card like we get to knock off the top team,” Braintree coach Kristen McDonnell said. “We had nothing to lose because we knew how good they were so it was kind of like we’re just gonna give it our best effort. I think sometimes when you can play like that, there is no pressure, everybody is just playing loose and plays so much better that way.”
In the fourth frame, Cathedral grabbed its first lead since the opening quarter as Dejah Jenkins (18 points) went end-to-end to finish a lay-up for the 51-49 score, but Braintree still wasn’t going anywhere.
With 1:10 left in regulation, Hume canned a clutch 3-pointer from well beyond the arc to shrink the gap, 6058. With 33 seconds on the clock, Adams rose to the occasion like she had all night long, drilling a tough lay-up that eventually forced the game into overtime.
Adams still had more left in the tank as the guard scored five of Braintree’s 13 points during overtime, netting the Wamps a momentum-building win just ahead of state tournament time.
“For a sophomore to jump in and play like she did was huge for us,” McDonnell said of Adams’ breakout performance. “We needed that. We needed someone to step up and fill Adriana’s spot and I thought she did a nice job.”
In the Div. 2 championship, No. 3 Coyle & Cassidy outlasted No. 11 Natick, 51-41.
The experience of the Warriors (18-1) was key as seniors Kaylee Haynes, Rachael Johnson, Kassidy Fields and Samantha Hourihan combined to score 46 of the team’s 51 points.
“Someone always seems to make a play,” coach Michael O’Brien said of his team’s leaders. “I think they dig in deep. We say it all year long, they get the laser focus in the second half and when the laser focus comes into play, we just go with it.”
Boys basketball
Lyron Bennett scored 23 points and teammate Shamar Browder tallied all 18 of his points in the final three quarters as Tech Boston
(15-2) defeated Belmont, 7368, to capture the IAABO Board 27 Comcast Division 2 title.
Mac Annus led the way for Belmont with a game-high 28, while Danny Yardemian added 20 points.
Jarnel Guzman Snow was the hero once again for Lynn
English. The junior guard knocked down a 3-pointer with 15 seconds to give the Bulldogs (18-2) a 65-63 victory over No. 1 Brookline in the IAABO Board 27 Comcast Tournament Div. 1 final. Guzman Snow also hit the game-winner to defeat Needham in the first round.
Will Harvey netted 20 points, Jalen Samuels added 15 and Chris Edgehill scored the 1,000th point of his career as Franklin (16-5) topped North Andover, 61-58, to claim the Nasuti Basketball Classic title.
Brandon Borde finished with 28 points, including knocking down a turnaround 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Foxboro (12-8) to a 70-67 win against Randolph in the opening round of the Warrior Classic. Hockey
Jacob Clark scored all three goals, including the game winner with 2:48 left and Hingham (17-3-1) outlasted Duxbury, 3-1, in the semifinals of the Buddy Ferreira Classic . ... Max DaSilva and Thomas Kramer had the goals to lead top-ranked BC
High past Austin Prep, 2-0. In the consolation round of the Ed Burns Classic, Dan Connolly earned his 300th career win as Marshfield (124-2) defeated Weymouth, 6-0. Tim Doyle and Matt Mullaney each scored twice in the win.
In a nonleague girls game, Nicole Hersey registered a goal and two assists, leading
Archbishop Williams (10-7-2) to a 5-2 win over Mount Saint
Charles (R.I.) and a ninth straight tournament berth.