Steve Haladyna Led Saint John's TonightWe visited the BABC Holiday tournament and watched several games. St. John's Prep and New Mission, our number 1 & 4 teams in Massachusetts, were featured in the last game of the evening at Chelsea High School. St. John's prevailed 53-49 in what was a sloppy game. Junior Steve Haladyna, who is known for getting his hands on balls and being in the right place at the right time, did just that tonight on his way to a game high 19 points. Haladyna outworked his opponent and was the most effective player on the court. Notre Dame bound Pat Connaughton did not have his best evening on the offensive end as he netted only three field goals and 8 free throws for 14 points. However, Connaughton came up big on the defensive end with six blocks, three of them being big time blocks.
St. John's took early control as they opened up a 15-8 lead and then led 31-17 at the half. Second half pressure by New Mission caused a multitude of St. John's turnovers that eventually turned this into a competitive game that could of gone either way. New Mission got to within two in the fourth quarter behind 6'5" senior Kachi Nzerem's 16 points. However, Haladyna's play down the stretch and two clutch free throws by Connaughton sealed the victory.
6'8" Sophomore Jacquil Taylor scored a game high 20 points to lead Cambridge to a 67 - 49 victory over Putnam. Taylor used some nifty inside moves and had a nice steal and breakaway dunk. 6'1" senior guard Kyroe Qualls-Betts added 14 of his own including 3 trifectas, and 6'4" senior guard Deondre Startling was impressive as he added 13 points of his own.
Everett's senior forward Erno Deshommes had a big night around the basket scoring 23 points on way to Everett's 61-44 victory over Haverhill. Everett took control early holding Haverhill to 16 points in the first half and led 27-16 at the half as Haverhill was struggling from the floor missing several 3 point attempts.
B.C. High defeated Mount Si, Washington 57-44 behind 5 threes and 15 points from Bowdoin bound Bryan Hurley. Junior 6'4" forward Dan Curtis showed us good touch from the perimeter adding 12 points. B.C. High broke open a 27-27 half time game by holding Mount Si to eight points over the first 11:00 minutes of the second half.
In the opening game of the day, Windsor, CT easily handled Bishop Guertin 81-54. Windsor's consistent pressure in this one was the difference maker as BG looked nervous against the pressure. After going into half time down 8, 39-27, BG started the second half with 3 straight turnovers and found themselves down 42-27. BG would cut it to 10 at 58-48 to end the third, but would never get any closer. Connor Green led BG with 15 points and Sean McClung added 10 points.
