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Sports

St. John's Loses in Semi-Final

The EMass state tournament is next for St. John's.

 

Feb. 25, 2012 — At the Belmont Hill School, St. John's took on St. Pius of Lynn in the semi-finals of the North Shore Playoffs in a rematch of their win two weeks earlier. Unfortunately for St. John's the result was not the same as St. Pius knocked them out with a comeback 37-32 win.

St. Pius scored first but Matt Hubauer matched them with an offensive put back to keep the game even. Just 47 seconds into the game, Nick Scibelli hit a 3-pointer to give St. John's the lead. After St. Pius retook the lead, back-to-back baskets by Hubauer made it 9-6 in favor of Swampscott with 11:47 left in the first half. After a Scibelli free throw, Donnie Weisse drained a 3-pointer and then fed Scibelli for another hoop to give St. John's a 15-6 lead at the 8:35 mark. Eight straight Lynn points brought them within one and led to a St. John's time-out. The streak was finally stopped when Alex Cormier scored to make it 17-14 with 1:59 left in the half. Four quick points gave St. Pius the lead as time wound down. Gavin Sullivan was fouled with 8.9 seconds left and calmly sank both free throws to give St. John's a 19-18 halftime lead.

Alex Cormier added to the lead with a made free throw 12 seconds into the second half but then things started to change. St. John's went cold and St. Pius turned up the defensive pressure. A halftime offensive adjustment led to three easy baskets as Lynn started to pound the ball inside. Now down by 6 points, St. John's made a push to keep the game close. After a Travis Thurman basket, Gavin Sullivan made two more free throws and the game was once again tied with 5:34 left. St. Pius picked up the defensive pressure and after a few turnovers, retook command of the game with a five point lead. Alex Cormier cut the lead to three with 1:55 on the clock and then after a turnover, St. John's had a chance to tie. With the ball in the hands of Donnie Weisse, he passed up the three and drove to the hoop. He made the basket and was fouled. Weisse then made the free throw and the game was even with 54.7 seconds to go. But St. Pius answered back with two quick baskets. A Thurman free throw with 5.6 seconds left brought Swampscott back within three at 35-32. But St. John's couldn't create a turnover and St. Pius of Lynn moved on to the Championship game.

Matt Hubauer was the high scorer for St. John's with 8 points and 6 boards. Nick Scibelli and Donnie Weisse each added 6 points. Travis Thurman grabbed 12 rebounds.

Despite the loss, St. John's has qualified for the EMass State Tournament. They now wait to see who their first round opponent will be. The Tournament begins on March 3rd.

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