BC High reaches D1 quarterfinals

Ivan Yhomby sized up his defender near half court with the ball on his left hip, anticipating a Cambridge double-team. As the second defender approached, the Boston College High senior point guard pounded two lefthanded dribbles and fired a pass to a cutting James Jones, who soared in for a layup.

The late-fourth-quarter sequence helped host and No. 6 BC High stave off a final run by No. 12 Cambridge, lifting the host Eagles to a 62-47 victory in a Division 1 second-round matchup Tuesday night at McNeice Pavilion.

“I was looking to get to the basket, but I saw [Jones] backdoor so I hit him and he finished,” Yhomby said. “We knew they were going to bring intensity, so we matched it and beat them.”

The host Eagles (15-7) trailed early before taking the lead for good midway through the second quarter, extending it to as many as 18 points before putting away the visiting Falcons (18-4).

“The guys did a nice job executing at the end when we needed something,” said BC High coach Bill Loughnane. “There was pressure all over the place, but our kids responded, which was great.”

Yhomby (17 points) paced the Eagles. Jones, a junior, added a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds and senior Dan Civello (13 points) and junior Juju Sustache (10) also scored in double figures. Cambridge senior Jeffery White Jr. led the Falcons with 17 points.

The 6-foot-9-inch Civello’s presence prevented opponents from attacking the basket and empowered the rest of the Eagles to challenge their individual matchups well beyond the 3-point line.

“We’ve been putting me on non-shooters a lot to just sit in a one-man zone,” said Civello, a Colby College commit. “It allows them to play more aggressively.”

Winners of five straight, BC High will face the winner of Wednesday night’s game between No. 3 Franklin and No. 14

Putnam Vocational Technical Academy. Date, time, and location are to be determined.

“I think we’re playing the basketball we have all year,” Civello said. “We’re really peaking at the right time and I’m excited for this weekend.”

Division 1 State

Catholic Memorial 81, Needham 64 — Senior guard Ryan Higgins scored a gamehigh 27 points on six 3-pointers, freshman Aiden Pires added 18, and the secondseeded Knights (18-4) outlasted reigning finalist Needham at a soldout Ronald S. Perry Gym in West Roxbury.

CM led, 36-30, at the half and opened a 49-33 lead in the third before Needham roared back, cutting the deficit to 58-50. But Pires rattled off 4 straight before Higgins converted a 4-point play for the knockout punch. The Knights will host No. 10 Lawrence in the quarterfinals.

Lowell 54, Andover 45 — Tzar PowellAparacio produced a stellar two-way performance with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 steals to lift the No. 9 Red Raiders (16-6) over their Merrimack Valley rival in the Round of 16, setting up a matchup with top-seeded Worcester North (21-0) in the state quarterfinals.

Xaverian 83, Methuen 70 — Lorenzo Carrara led the No. 5 Hawks (16-6) with 32 points and seniors Ty Cheney (19 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists) and JJ Honekamp (8 points, 2 blocks, 2 steals) also starred in a second-round victory, setting up a test at No. 4 North Andover (17-4) in the Round of 16 Friday at 6 p.m.

Division 2 State

Bedford 52, Pope Francis 42 — Justice Buchannan dropped 20 points, Joe Liberman added 15, and Cam Shoesmith tallied 11 points and 16 rebounds to lead the No. 14 Bucs (18-3) in a road upset over the No. 3 Cardinals (17-4) to reach the Round of 16. Scituate 55, Leominster 48 — Michael Porter scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the No. 15 Sailors (20-4) in a second-round victory in Leominster. Brian Good added 11 points and seven rebounds. Somerset Berkley 53, Canton 50 — Mason Medeiros (18 points), Finn Bjork (12 points, 13 rebounds), and Colten Pacheco (12 points, 5 rebounds) lifted the fourthseeded Blue Raiders (20-2) to a secondround win.

Division 3 State

Medfield 61, Martha’s Vineyard 54 — Peter Kumar (15 points), Luke Lisciandra (12), and Rowan Tracey (11) powered the No. 6 Big Blue (18-4) to the second-round win over No. 11 MV (15-7).

Norwell 49, East Boston 46 — Nick Adams (14 points) and Connor O’Hare (12) teamed up for 21 second-half points as the fifth-seeded Clippers (20-2) held off the No. 12 Jets (16-7) in the second-round matchup.

Division 4 State

Bourne 61, Monomoy 53 — Mike Dankert scored 22 points for the No. 2 Canalmen (21-1) in a second-round win.

David Prouty 53, Clinton 50 — Senior Alec Fournier scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half to lift the No. 10 Panthers (17-4) to a second-round win in Clinton. Manchester Essex 77, Tyngsborough 36 — Senior captains Cade Furse (24 points) and Eddie Chareas (14 points, 15 rebounds) were the catalysts for the No. 5 Hornets (21-1) in the second-round win.

Division 5 State

English High 47, Minuteman 40 — Junior Janeudy Brea led the No. 13 Eagles (8-14) with 18 points, but it was freshman Ronniel Luna (9 points) who delivered the biggest shot of the evening at Madison Park.

Luna knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to open a 45-40 lead in the final minutes, lifting English to a second straight Round of 8 appearance. “For a freshman to come up big like that late in the game is huge,” said English coach Eric McKoy, whose team will face No. 5 Mahar (17-5) in the Round of 8.