Stoneham Bounced By Lynnfield in Boys' Tournament

For Lynnfield it was the start of what's hoped to be a long tournament run. For Stoneham, it was the end of a long 48 hours.

Led by seniors Lou Ellis and Mike Carangelo, the No. 4 seeded Pioneers sprinted to a 69-41 win over visiting Stoneham in the first round of the MIAA Division 3 North basketball tournament. Lynnfield (17-4) advances to a quarterfinal matchup against the winner of Tuesday's game between Whittier and Northeast Regional. Stoneham's season ends at 8-14.

Facing Lynnfield was a big enough challenge for the Spartans but coming after the tragic death Sunday of Stoneham High School junior Sydney Coiro certainly made the mountain even bigger. Coiro died when her Ford Explorer overturned on Pond Street in Stoneham. Monday was a tough school day for many.

"I think high school kids are fickle regardless. Something like that happens I don't think you really know how they're going to react. Maybe a little bit of concern," said Stoneham coach Jim Bakeman on his team's focus coming into the game. "I don't know if that played any role in anything. I give Lynnfield all the credit with everything tonight, they played really well."

Stoneham got off to a good start, actually leading 8-7 halfway thru the first quarter. But the Spartans went cold for five minutes, during which Lynnfield went on an 11-0 run. It was 15-8 Lynnfield after one, and 35-18 at the half.

Stoneham was cold from long range as well as inside and when the Spartans appeared to have momentum, Ellis was always there with a 3-pointer. Just to make sure Stoneham didn't get any early ideas of a second-half comeback, Ellis hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to start the half as Lynnfield pulled out to a 41-22 lead. The third quarter would end 54-31.

With junior Cape Ann League MVP Bill Areseneault (9 points) continuing to push the pace for Lynnfield, Ellis (19) and Carangelo (20) reaped the rewards. When it hit 67-38 with 2:51 left, both coaches emptied the bench and 10 new players finished up.

"He has a college basketball jump shot," said Lynnfield coach and CAL Coach of the Year Scott Mackenzie of Ellis. "He had a couple catch and shoots tonight. It was good defense but just better offense. There's a reason why we won a lot of games this year and Louis is one of those reasons. We have Lou and we have Billy and we have Mike. They're our three most instrumental guys and tonight they played fantastic."

Stoneham was led by senior Devon Chase who finished with 19.