McIntire Shocks St. Pius

McIntire Shocks St. Pius

At the Swampscott Middle School, the Boys Cadets took on St. Pius of Lynn. St. John's trailed by 14 points with just under 7 minutes to go before mounting a comeback to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Jake McIntire scored 8 points in the last two minutes to key the win. 

St. John's took the early lead on an offensive putback by McKeon Midland just over a minute into the game. St. Pius countered with four points to retake the lead before Max Solone evened the game with a jumper. But St. Pius came roaring back by scoring fourteen unanswered points to open up an 18-4 lead. Brendan Bradley broke the streak off a pass from Cole Cassidy and then Cassidy drained a 3-pointer to close the gap. St. John's couldn't hold on as St. Pius scored five points in the last minute to head into the half with a 23-9 lead. 

St. Pius struck first to open the second half to take their largest lead of the game of 16 points. With the outside shots not falling, St. John's decided to pound the ball inside. They went to Center McKeon Midland and he scored three times in a row on passes from Chris Legere, Ben Turner, and Jake McIntire to cut the lead to 25-15 with 12:31 on the clock. The boys of Lynn came back with another six point run to take what looked like an insurmountable lead with only 9 minutes left in the game. Chris Legere started the comeback as he found his way into the middle to grab a rebound and put it in to make it 31-17 with 8:41 left. Legere then went down low to Midland again to make it 31-19. In every game there is always a play that changes the tide. For St. John's it was Cole Cassidy leaping over the end line to keep a ball from seemingly going out of bounds. He tipped it to Max Solone who found an open Chris Legere to make it 31-21. Ben Turner followed with two made free throws and suddenly the lead was at single digits with 6:36 left in the game. The St. John's defense clamped down as Legere, Max Pegnato, Max Solone, and Jake McIntire harassed St. Pius into numerous turnovers. McIntire grabbed a steal and went the length of the court and followed it up with another basket on a feed from Brendan Bradley to bring them within four at 31-27. Max Solone finished the 14-0 St. John's run with a driving hoop to make it 31-29. But St. Pius would not fold as they came right back to take a 36-29 lead with two minutes left in the game. For St. John's, it was now "McIntire Time." McIntire drove to the basket to make it 36-31 with 1:43 to go. After a defensive stop, McIntire answered with a 3-pointer to make it 36-34 at the 1:17 mark. After a St. John's time-out, Simon Keough came up with a steal, he fed McIntire who found Ben Turner all alone to even the score at 36-36 with 19 seconds left. St. Pius pushed the ball down court and forced a foul. They had a chance to take the lead with a made free throw with 12 seconds left. But the shot didn't fall. McIntire came up with the ball and rushed down court heading directly for the basket. Despite a defender forcing him to his left, He somehow made a twisting left side shot which fell though and got a foul with only 3 seconds left in the game. St. John's led for the first time since the first basket of the game at 38-36. McIntire then calmly made the free throw and all that was left was a desparation heave as the buzzer sounded signaling the end to a dramatic comeback win. 

For St. John's, Jake McIntire scored all 12 of his points in the second half to go with 4 rebounds. McKeon Midland added double figures in points with 10 and led the team with 7 boards. Max Solone and Ben Turner chipped in with 5 rebounds and 4 points each. The St. John's defense held St. Pius to only 13 second half points.

St. John's Makes it Back to Back

At Peabody High School, the St. John's Boys Cadets took on St. Adelaide of Peabody. Fresh off their comeback win over St. Pius, St. John's stormed to an early lead and took an easy win. 

St. John's came out flying. Ben Turner scored off an offensive putback and then fed Jake Mcintire for a quick lead. McIntire then came up with a steal and took it coast to coast to make it 6-0. Turner then tipped another one home and before Peabody knew what had hit them, St. John's led by eight less then three minutes into the game. After a St. Adelaide basket, St. John's increased the pressure. McIntire scored twice more and McKeon Midland, Ben Turner, and Simon Keough followed. Max Pegnato and Keough each added a free throw to make it a 12-0 run for a huge 20-2 lead with 7:21 still left in the half. Pegnato and McKeon Midland would each add four points with a Zach Elwell jumper in between as St. John's dominated the first half for a 30-10 lead. 

Things didn't improve for St. Adelaide in the second half. After an early basket, Max Solone answered with a 3-pointer. The game was never in doubt from there. Cole Cassidy and Chris Legere each got on the scoreboard in the second half as St. John's rolled to an easy 45-20 win. 

Ben Turner led St. John's with 10 points and 8 rebounds. McKeon Midland grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with 8 points. Jack Leahy had 4 assists and 6 rebounds in the win.

Upset Bid falls Short

At the Swampscott Middle School, the St. John's Boys Bantams took on undefeated St. Raphael of Medford. It was a close battle all the way before Medford pulled one out late for the win. 

St. John's struck first off the opening tip as Anthony Rakauskas fed Ethan Weisse for an easy two. After a matching St. Raphael basket, Gabe D'Silva grabbed a missed shot and put it back in to retake the lead. Both teams were scoring early, Medford retook the lead until Kyle Fitzgerald answered with a jumper to even the score at the 10:22 mark. St. Raphael picked up the defensive pressure and converted on the offensive end to take a 13-6 lead. Robbie Vernava ended the streak on a pass from Kaden Quirk to make it 13-8. Oscar Hale followed with an offensive putback and St. John's called a timeout with 3:05 left in the half trailing by three. After a defensive stop, Hale made a free throw to make it 13-11. St. Raphael matched with a basket and looked like it was heading to the half with the lead. Not so fast. Justin Ratner drove and dished to Oscar Hale to make it 15-13 with 36 seconds left. St. John's then forced a turnover which led to another Kyle Fitzgerald jumper with 16 seconds left. The teams headed to halftime with the game even. 

St. Rafael scored to open the half but Gabe D'Silva evened it up again with a drive to the basket. Medford started to crash the boards as they scored on many second chance baskets to go on a 10-2 run. Just when things were starting to look bleak, Justin Ratner came up with a steal and found Anthony Rakauskas open for a basket to cut the lead to 27-21. Ethan Weisse followed with a lay up. St. John's wasn't done. Rakauskas scored again and then Ratner came up with another steal and found Oscar Hale down low to even the game at 27 with 6:45 left in the game. Just over a minute later, Cole Keough banked in a shot from the right side as St. John's took the lead. But it wasn't to be, St. Raphael showed why it is undefeated as they held St. John's scoreless the rest of the way. They finished with a six point run to take the win 33-29. 

Oscar Hale led St. John's with 7 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Gabe D'Silva and Anthony Rakauskas each added six points. 

St. John's Back on Track

At Peabody High School, the Boys Bantams took on St. Adelaide of Peabody. It was close for a while, but St. John's pulled away late in the first half and got back into the win column as they rolled to a 47-29 win. 

Both teams started slowly and it took nearly three minutes for someone to score. That someone ended up being Ethan Eichler of St. John's who scored on a drive to the basket for the early lead. St. Adelaide came back with three points to retake the lead. Kyle Fitzgerald then found an open Michael Fitzgerald to give St. John's the lead at 4-3 with 8:01 left in the half. The lead see-sawed back and forth. A Justin Ratner runner and a John Caponigro jumper with an Ethan Eichler free throw in between helped St. John's maintain a 9-8 lead at the 3:40 mark. Just when it looked like a low scoring half, St. John's took command. Cam O'Brien fired a full court pass to Oscar Hale for an 11-9 lead with 2:36 to go. After another Hale basket, O'Brien hit a 3-pointer after an Ethan Weisse steal of a loose ball. With only 31 seconds left in the half, Jason Aucone hit a jumper which finished an 11-1 run to end the half with St. John's on top 18-9. 

Just 7 seconds into the second half, Cam O'Brien took it strong to the hoop to make it 20-9. St. Adelaide cut the lead back to single digits on their next possesion but it didn't stay that way for long. Justin Ratner took a steal the length of the court to push the lead to 22-11. But Peabody just wouldn't go away easily. Back to back baskets made it 22-15. St. John's took over from there. After another Ratner hoop on a pass from Nate Stern, Ethan Weisse drained a long 3-pointer. Ethan Eichler followed with a steal and driving basket to make it 29-15 with 10:56 on the clock. Peabody would never get any closer. Late back to back baskets by Michael Fitzgerald and a jumper from Nate Stern turned the game into a blow-out as St. John's cruised to victory. 

Justin Ratner led the St. John's attack with 8 points and Ethan Eichler added 7 points. Oscar Hale(10 rebounds) and Michael Fitzgerald(7 rebounds and 3 blocks) prevented any second shots for St. Adelaide. St. John's travels to Revere next week to take on IC Revere at the toughest road gym in the league.

Foul Trouble Dooms St. John's

At the Swampscott Middle School, the St. John's Girls Cadets took on St. Adelaide of Peabody. Peabody got off to a quick start and St. John's could never mount a comeback and fell 40-20. 

St. Adelaide came out firing and their half court trap proved successful as they took a quick 8-0 lead. Olivia Matela got St. John's on the board with a long 3-pointer from the left side on a feed from Kayla Kornitsky. Peabody couldn't miss as they opened the lead up to 12-3. Faye Parker grabbed a rebound of her own miss and laid it in to make it 12-5 with 7:57 left in the half. But just seconds later, she picked up her 3rd foul of the game and was forced to the bench for the remainder of the half. St. Adelaide took full advantage as they began crashing the boards. St. John's could only muster a basket from Olivia Matela down the stretch as St. Adelaide headed to the half up 20-7. 

It didn't get any better in the early going of the second half as St. Adelaide scored on their first four possesions to push the lead past twenty. St. John's showed their pride as they outscored Peabody the rest of the way. With Faye Parker back in the game, she scored twice sandwiched around two made free throws by Katie Watts to cut the lead to 28-13 with 7:07 to go. St. Adelaide always had an answer, they turned it up again and increased the lead back to 32-13. Katie Watts then took a pass from Mary Miles and then hit Chrissy Rogers for an open jumper to make it 32-17. But it was not enough, a late 3-pointer by Olivia Matela was all they had left as they dropped a tough one at home. 

Olivia Matela led St. John's offensively with 8 points. Maggie Barden had 5 blocks and Faye Parker finished with her usual double figures in rebounds with 16.

St. John's Suffers Road Loss

At the Northeast Metropolitan School in Wakefield, the St. John's Girls Cadets took on OLA of Lynnfield. The "Voke" is always a tough gym to play in and the OLA defense made it even tougher. Twenty-five turnovers spelled doom for St. John's as OLA opened up a big lead and then held on for an 11 point win. 

OLA scored the first 7 points of the game and held St. John's scoreless for almost 6 minutes. Olivia Matela finally got Swampscott on the board with a steal and lay up to make it 7-2. Three turnovers led to six more OLA points as they pushed ahead 13-2. Chrissy Rogers stopped the bleeding when she put back a Katie Watts miss to make it 13-4. Olivia Matela's late 3-pointer kept the game respectable at the half with OLA leading 16-7. 

The first eight minutes of the second half turned into a nightmare for St. John's. OLA went on a 16-2 run to take a commanding 32-9 lead. St. John's could have simply rolled over, but they didn't. Faye Parker scored all 7 St. John's points in a 7-2 run to make it 34-16. After an OLA basket, Matela hit another 3-pointer and Maggie Barden followed with a basket of her own to make it 36-21. Faye Parker and Katie Watts scored the last two baskets of the game as St. John's finished strong to make the score a respectable 36-25. 

Olivia Matela finished with double figures for St. John's with 10 points. It doesn't get any easier for St. John's as they take on St. Francis of Medford after the Christmas break at home on January 4th.