HYANNIS — It could have been a lot worse.
In a Cape & Islands League tilt held at the St. Francis Xavier Prepatory School gymnasium last night (Thursday), the host St. John Paul II Lions (6-3) downed the visiting Cape Cod Cod Academy boys, 65-48.
And the Lions scored just three points in the fourth quarter, a Kevin Marsh downtown three-pointer.
St. John Paul II’s Sean Reardon (33) holds back the Cape Cod Academy Seahawks on an inbounds play in the Lions’ 65-48 win in Hyannis last night. Reardon had six points on the night and four rebounds.
Sean Walsh/capecod.com sports
In what had been an early, even match-up in the first quarter — with the Lions ahead just 5-4 — St. John Paul II went on a lightning-fast 13-2 run to end the frame ahead by an 18-6 margin.
That lead jumped to 32-18 by halftime.
It was an incredible third quarter surge that drove a dagger into Cape Cod Academy’s collective heart, however, as the Lions outscored their guests 30-19 and had built a 62-37 advantage. Yes, the Seahawks fought this one down to the wire, outscoring the Lions in the fourth frame 11-3, but too much damage had already been effected.
The game’s high-scorer was Cape Cod Academy’s Jack Massari who drilled six three-pointers and shot 7-14 from the field for 20 points on the night. He was followed by Seahawks’ big man Henry Zezze who finished with 12 points and added 12 rebounds for a double-double. The Seahawks’ usually prolific point guard Johnny Hatem, though, was held to just five points as the hosts routinely trapped him at half court in a stifling double-team.
The Lions’ defensive effort in the first quarter alone caused the Seahawks to turn the ball over 13 times.
St. John Paul II’s fast-break offense was in high gear throughout the first three quarters as 10 members of the Blue & Gold notched their names on the scoresheet.
Senior Johnny Warden led all Lions scorers with 14 points while freshman Devan Harrison and Cole Campbell each had nine. The hard-charging senior guard Diego Meritus added eight points. St. John Paul II went 7-12 as a team from the charity stripe but the visitors did not go to the line a single time in the game. A total of 13 three-pointers hit the net, combined from both teams. The Lions’ Tim Jordan hit two of those — his only two shots of the game.
St. John Paul II’s Diego Meritus was nothing less than pure hustle last night in his team’s 65-48 win over the visiting Cape Cod Academy Seahawks.
Sean Walsh/capecod.com sports
St. John Paul II will host the Nantucket Whalers today (Friday, Jan. 23) at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center at 3:30 pm.
Cape Cod Academy (5-6) hopes to get back to .500 on Monday against Cape Cod Tech at 5:30 pm in Harwich.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm.
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