Prep Easily Handles 7-foot Swords, Lincoln-Sudbury

Another St. John’s Prep basketball game, another win for the Eagles and “player-of-the-game” going to Pat Connaughton. None of which were surprising, but the efforts of Freddy Shove also deserve mention in defeating Lincoln-Sudbury Sunday night in the Division I North quarterfinal round. Shove, who netted only two points, had the job of containing the Warriors’ seven-foot tall, Bowdoin bound, John Swords.

“He was tall and skinny…I thought?” Shove said with a grin after the game. “I didn’t realize that he weighed 275 pounds. I just tried to keep him out of the paint the best I could and behind me.”

Shove endured being knocked to the floor early in the game and an inadvertent elbow to the nose from Swords as he went up for a rebound in the third, but persevered as the Eagles soared to a 70-56 win.

“He did a great job against him,” said Prep head coach Sean Connolly. “He’s (Swords) a great player; we just tried to keep him off the boards and out high, and Freddy did that for us.” added Connolly.

The undersized Prep squad (by comparison) used a fast break to keep Lincoln-Sudbury, which had 11 of its 15 players over six feet, out of a 2-3 defense most of the night. By the midway point of the third quarter, Lincoln-Sudbury was spent.

After blowing out East Boston, 57-39, on Friday night, Lincoln-Sudbury arrived at St. John’s Prep Sunday looking to knock off the No. 1 seed, but the Warriors could not keep pace with the Prep’s passing attack and ball movement. The Prep in a first-round game.

Lincoln-Sudbury coach Patrick Callahan offered praise and respect for the Eagles after the game.

“They were better than advertised. They out-toughed us tonight,” Callahan said. “Pat (Connaughton) is a very talented basketball player; his competitiveness is what makes him ‘Pat Connaughton.’”

Callahan had heard he was a great ball handler and scorer, but what he found more surprising was Connaughton’s defensive ability.

“He alone, out-rebounded our entire team in the first half,” said Callahan.

Basketball games are rarely won in the first quarter, but with Swords in foul trouble with two personal fouls in the opening three minutes of the game, things didn’t look good for Lincoln-Sudbury. The Prep handled the Warriors easily while Swords was taken out for most of the first half.

For the Prep, things started off with Connaughton taking a charge in front of his home crowd. A minute later he picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast to throw down an uncontested two-handed monster dunk and moments later, banked a 3-pointer off the glass and drew a foul. He had 11 points in the opening quarter and 26 for the game.

In the second quarter, the game was unraveling quickly for the Warriors with the Prep out-rebounding them on both ends of the court. Lincoln-Sudbury only got within eight, witnessing more acrobat moves from Connaughton as the half neared a close.

A loose ball headed out of bounds was recovered by Connaughton, who doing a 360 in mid-air, dished out to the three-point arc, where junior Owen Marchetti drained a three with only a second to play. Marchetti had 11 points for the game.

Also in the second, the Prep welcomed back senior captain Conor Macomber. The co-captain has had a season to (not) remember. Early on, he tore his MCL, but returned to the court mid-season for a short stint only to suffer a concussion and then a bout with mono. Macomber was scoreless Sunday, but adding a spark on defense, playing while wearing a large knee brace.

The Prep had a commanding 37-26 lead at the half and continued to dominate in the third quarter. Marchetti started out with a reverse around Swords. Junior Stephen Haladyna scored two of his 20 points as he drew a foul and added the freebie from the foul line. Connaughton added salt to the wound as he netted another 3-pointer. In the blink of an eye, the game was out of hand.

The Eagles then started a full-court press with 2:50 to play in the third, extending the lead to 17 points. Lincoln-Sudbury, fatigued by the relentless Eagles, drew to within 11 in the fourth.

As the clock ticked down, fans started to file out, leaving the Eagles to put the finishing touches on their win.

 “The two fouls on Swords early were huge for us. We went on a run,” said Connaughton after the game. “Our defense tonight was much better and our defense supports our offense.”

Connaughton said he was looking forward to Tuesday night when the Eagles play archrival Central Catholic at Lawrence High in the semi-final round.

“I can’t wait! Last year they beat us twice. Now we have a chance to beat them twice this year, although it’s always tougher to beat a team the second time,” he admitted.