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LYNN – Even with a couple chances in the final 10 seconds, St. Mary’s of Lynn was unable to fend off upset-minded Dover-Sherborn during a boys basketball thriller Friday night.
The No. 23 Raiders came back from down eight in the third to go up by as many as eight in the fourth and eventually held onto a 47-46 victory over the 10th-seeded Spartans in the Div. 3 first round.
“I have a done of respect for St. Mary’s and they are one of the top programs in the state,” said Dover-Sherborn coach Rick Grady about the win. “We also felt really good about our chances with our team. We have a lot of confidence in our league that tests us every year.”
With a 47-41 deficit and under two minutes left, St. Mary’s (15-8) went to a full-court press that Dover-Sherborn (13-8) had seen plenty of. The Spartans forced four turnovers down the stretch, including a steal for senior Josiah Quintana that led to the final bucket for sophomore Javihan Martinez (26 points) to make it a 47-46 contest.
The Spartans turned up the pressure again with their press as freshman Rowan Merryman came up with a steal with 12.1 seconds left.
After that, Dover-Sherborn came up with two huge stops at the rim against Martinez after the ensuing timeout and then at a shot attempt at the buzzer from Martinez on a deep shot attempt.
“I thought Gavin (Lynch) and Chuck (Fang) just did a fantastic job (defending Martinez),” Grady said about stopping the sophomore. “He’s a fantastic player and he can score in a ton of different ways.”
With a 23-20 lead at the half, St. Mary’s put together an 8-3 run to go up 31-23 after a three-point play for Martinez. Dover-Sherborn did not back down and ended up scoring on a putback for senior captain Mason Melchionda (16 points) off an incredible hustle rebound for senior captain Brian Olson to make it a 31-25 contest.
“A bunch of seniors waiting to have practice tomorrow,” said Grady about the hustle sparked by the eight seniors. “That’s what it came down to and they’re a great group of guys.”
From there, the Raiders used a couple more putbacks late in the quarter to trail 33-31 after three.
To start the fourth, Melchionda knocked down a wide-open triple to put Dover-Sherborn in front 34-33 for the first time since leading 7-6 in the first. The Raiders ended up extending the lead to 45-37 on back-to-back triples for Melchionda and Olson.
“It just comes down to preparation and form shooting,” said Melchionda about the Raiders hitting 9-of-22 from distance to just 1-of-20 for the Spartans. “It’s about getting ready and knocking down the shots when we needed to.”
Senior captain Jonathan Windle came up with eight of his 12 in the first half to keep it close in the first half.
Next up, Dover-Sherborn will head to No. 7 Apponequet in the Div. 3 second round.
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