SPRINGFIELD — At the beginning of the 2015-16 season, coach David Brown took the St. Mary’s boys’ basketball team on a weekend trip to Springfield.
According to Brown, the trip was meant to bring his players outside of a school environment so they could bond, play a few scrimmages, and set goals. Their overarching goal? A state championship.
It was only right that on Saturday afternoon at Springfield College, the Spartans did just that, defeating Maynard, 61-52, to win the Division 4 state title.
“Our team motto has been to seize the moment,’’ Brown said. “These kids worked their butts off, so they deserve the accomplishment.’’
With both teams advancing to the championship with 1-point victories, a tightly contested battle was far from a surprise. St. Mary’s (20-5) jumped out to 18-11 lead heading into the second quarter as sophomore shooting guard Calvin Johnson and junior point guard Jonathan Mercado combined for four 3-pointers. Johnson finished with a team-high 18 points.
“We knocked down some big shots early that made [Maynard] come out of their zone,’’ Brown said. “Once they adjusted, we had some success attacking the rim.’’
Maynard (22-3) quickly answered with guard play of its own, though, and managed to gain momentum heading into the second half with a 10-4 run that cut its deficit to 34-29. Sophomore guard Corey Olivier and senior guard Cal Howes led the charge, finishing with 20 and 22 points, respectively.
A 3-pointer from Olivier put the Tigers up, 41-39, midway through the third quarter, but St. Mary’s came roaring back to seal the victory.
The Spartans’ shooting proved to be the difference, as an emphatic trey from senior forward Joseph Fama put St. Mary’s ahead for good.
“We shot out of this world,’’ Mercado said. “We put a lot more jump shots on the stat sheet than usual, but luckily they just kept falling. Everyone was hitting their looks and it made the difference.’’
Strong post play from junior forward Jonathan Mola padded St. Mary’s lead in the fourth quarter; 5 of his 11 points came in the final frame.
As the final buzzer sounded, Brown joined the celebration at halfcourt with both fists held high.
“We were 4-4 at one point in the season,’’ Brown said. “To win 16 of our last 17, it just shows how much we’ve improved as a basketball team this year.’’
