St. John's Boys Bantams Clinch State Tournament Bid

St. John's Drops Clash of Titans

At St. Mary's Parish Center in Winchester, the Boys Bantams took on St. Mary's of Winchester on a cold Thursday night. It was a clash of the best as St. Mary's came into the game with a 10-1 record and St. John's stood at 9-2. St. John's was seeking its 10th victory to clinch a State Tournament birth. But it was not to be as St. Mary's made 17 second half free throws to hold on for the win. 

St. Mary's scored first before St. John's got going. Gabe D'Silva scored on a feed from Ethan Weisse, Justin Ratner made a free throw, and Anthony Rakauskas scored on a drive for a two point lead. St. Mary's would even the game up and both teams would then match baskets. A Michael Fitzgerald putback kept the game tied and then Justin Ratner made two free throws to move ahead with 7:56 left in the half. But it would be the last lead for St. John's. St. Mary's countered with seven consecutive points to pull ahead 16-11. Robbie Vernava cut the lead to three with a foul line extended jumper but St. John's could get no closer. An Anthony Rakauskas field goal and two made Oscar Hale free throws would be all St. John's could muster down the stretch as they trailed 27-17 at the half. 

Playing in the smallest gym in the league had slowed down both teams offensively as they combined for only 44 first half points. St. John's would score almost as much as their offense would heat up with 39 second half points. But things wouldn't improve that quickly. Ethan Weisse would cut the lead to nine with a free throw to start the second half but St. Mary's would slowly increase the lead to fourteen. Justin Ratner scored on a drive to the basket to make it 37-25 at the 11:03 mark. After a made Winchester free throw, Kyle Fitzgerald made a free throw and Kaden Quirk followed with a jumper to make it 39-28. St. Mary's countered with 3 of 4 from the line while St. John's missed four to make it 42-28. Rob Vernava cut the lead to 42-30 on a feed from Justin Ratner as St. John's tried to mount a comeback. But each time they tried, St. Mary's had an answer. Finally, with 5:45 left in the game and trailing by thirteen, St. John's began its push. Gabe D'Silva made two free throws and then put back his own miss to pull to within 51-42. Totally flustered, a St. Mary's player then scored on his own basket! Ethan Weisse then layed one in and St. John's had narrowed the lead to 51-46 with 5:01 left in the game. St. Mary's answered back with four points to move ahead 55-46. Anthony Rakauskas made two free throws and then Ethan Weisse matched a St. Mary's basket to make it 57-50. After a turnover, Justin Ratner converted on the offensive end to pull St. John's within five at 57-52 with 2:57 left on the clock. But in the end, it was a game of free throws as St. John's was forced to foul and St. Mary's made 6 of 6 from the line to hold on for a 66-56 win. 

For St. John's, three players had double figures in points with Justin Ratner scoring 12,Gabe D'Silva with 11, and Anthony Rakauskas with 10. The tiny gym affected St. John's most profoundly from the free throw line as they were only able to convert 16 of 34 attempts while St. Mary's made 24 of 36. St. John's needs one more win to secure a State Tournament birth with a winning percentage of at least 70%.

St. John's Drops Heartbreaker

February 1, 2014

At the Swampscott Middle School, the Boy's Bantams took on St. Mary's of Winchester in a rematch of a loss two nights earlier. In search of a win to clinch a State Tournament birth, St. John's couldn't close as they lost in the final seconds of the game and now need a victory in their final regular season game. 

St. John's struck first as Ethan Weisse found an open Justin Ratner for the first basket of the game. After a made St. Mary's free throw, St. John's would take early command. Cam O'Brien fed Anthony Rakauskas and then hit a 3-pointer to make it 7-1. Rakauskas followed with a made free throw and an offensive putback to make it 10-1. A Justin Ratner free throw then pushed the lead to double digits at the 10:16 mark. But the lead wouldn't last long, St. Mary's picked up the defensive intensity and quickly cut the lead to 11-7. Oscar Hale stopped the run with a basket but St. Mary's countered with five points of their own to make it 13-12. Ethan Weisse increased the lead to three and from there the teams would match baskets down the stretch as St. John's would hold a slim 19-16 halftime lead. 

Winchester would even the game up early in the second half. Ethan Eichler would score the first St. John's basket of the half to retake the lead at 21-19. St. Mary's would storm back with five points of there own to take the lead for the first time. A Gabe D'Silva field goal and two made free throws kept St. John's within striking distance down by just a single point. With 6:18 left in the game, Ethan Eichler came up with a clutch steal and found D'Silva open to put St. John's back on top at 27-26. St. John's stetched the lead to three on a huge offensive rebound by Kyle Fitzgerald and a strong putback to make it 29-26. After a St. Mary's basket, it was Fitzgerald going down low to Gabe D'Silva to make it 31-28 with 3:50 to go. The lead would change hands again as Winchester would convert a turnover to push ahead at 32-31. Ethan Eichler and Anthony Rakauskas each made one of two free throws to grab the lead back with 2:06 left. St. Mary's would take control again as they converted a conventional three point play to lead 35-33. St. John's called a time-out with 1:09 on the clock. Out of the time-out, St. John's had a chance to tie the game from the free throw line but missed them both. As luck would have it, they controlled the rebound for one last chance. This time, they made it as Eichler got the ball to Anthony Rakauskas who scored a driving basket to tie the game with 9 seconds to go. St. Mary's would take the ball the length of the court and with only 2 seconds on the clock, drew a foul. They made both free throws and held on for a 37-35 win. 

For St. John's, Gabe D'Silva was immense on the boards with 18 rebounds, 8 points, and 3 blocks. Anthony Rakauskas chipped in with 8 points and 5 rebounds of his own. With the loss, St. John's drops to 9-4 and must defeat Sacred Heart of East Boston to earn a State Tournament invite in the season finale on Super Bowl Sunday.

St. John's Clinches State Tournament

February 2, 2014

At the Breed Middle School in Lynn, the Boys Bantams took on Sacred Heart of East Boston. They were in search of their elusive 10th win to qualify for the EMass State Tournament and they made sure that this was never in doubt. Led by double digit scoring from Justin Ratner and Cam O'Brien, St. John's rolled to an easy win. 

A year earlier, Justin Ratner had been one of only two returning players who had played in the State Tournament. He obviously wanted another shot and he scored eight of the first eleven points as St. John's roared out to an 11-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Sacred Heart finally got on the board before Cam O'Brien made a free throw and a field goal to make it 14-3. Sacred Heart came back to pull within eight. On this day, St. John's wasn't about to let any thought of a comeback creep into the East Boston player's minds. Nate Stern scored on an offensive put back, Anthony Rakauskas scored on a steal of an in bounds pass, and Gabe D'Silva made a driving hoop to extend the lead to double digits. St. John's keot the heat on. Jason Aucone assisted on a Ratner basket and then Ethan Eichler scored twice as St. John's headed to the half with a commanding 27-9 lead. 

Cam O'Brien would score the first two St. John's second half baskets and the game would never be in doubt from there. It was now time to get everyone involved in the win and that certainly happened. Every player had at least a point, rebound, or assist in the game. During one two minute stretch, Cole Keough scored off two steals and assisted on an Anthony Rakauskas basket. Jason Aucone, Michael Fitzgerald, Rob Vernava, and John Caponigro all scored second half field goals. Kaden Quirk added two assists and Cam O'Brien hit a 3-pointer as St. John's won easily 55-16. 

Justin Ratner led the St. John's offensive attack with 11 points and 3 assists. Cam O'Brien had his best offensive game of the year with 10 points. Michael Fitzgerald grabbed 11 boards while Ethan Eichler and Cole Keough each added 6 points. Jason Aucone got the start and had a solid all around game with 4 points and 4 rebounds. 

With the win, St. John's finishes at 10-4 and will head to the EMass State Tournament the first weekend of March with a winning percentage of over 70%. Next up will be the North Shore CYO Division One playoffs at the Belmont Hill School the weekend of February 15th. St. John's will take on their new found rival, St. Mary's of Winchester.

Parker's Triple Double Dooms St. Adelaide

February 1, 2014

At the Swampscott Middle School, the Girls Cadets took on St. Adelaide of Peabody in their regular season finale. After a slow start, Faye Parker took over the game as she finished with 22 points, 24 rebounds, and 17 blocks in the victory. 

St. Adelaide came out in a full court press which frustrated St. John's early as they bolted to a 6-0 lead. It took a liitle over four minutes for St. John's to finally get on the board with back to back Olivia Matela jumpers to cut the lead to two. Matela stayed hot with another basket on a feed from Mary Miles and then assisted on a basket by Faye Parker as St. John's took back the lead at the 8:39 mark. Parker would then start to dominate on the boards as she scored on two consecutive offensive rebounds to finish off a 12-0 St. John's run. After a St. Adelaide basket, it was Parker again on an offensive putback and then a foul line jumper to make it 16-8. St. Adelaide tried to hang in there but they were having trouble even getting off a shot as Parker had 9 blocked shots. With 4:58 left in the half, Kayla Kornitsky grabbed a steal and banked in a shot to start another St. John's run. Faye Parker was extending her range as she hit another foul line jumper and Sasha Balchenkoff grabbed a Kornitsky miss to make it 22-10. Fiona Herring followed on a pass from Kornitsky and then Balckenkoff put an offensive rebound in to finish a 10-0 run to push the lead to sixteen. Faye Parker would beat the buzzer to send St. John's into halftime ahead 28-12. The St. John's defense had clamped down on St. Adelaide as Katie Watts, Olivia Matela, Kayla Kornitsky, and Mary Miles each had two steals. 

St. Adelaide got back into the game early in the second half. They went on a 10-2 run in the first five minutes to bring the lead to single digits at 30-22. St. John's settled down as Parker scored on an offensive tip in followed by a Maggie Barden baseline jumper to make it 34-22. With 7:40 left in the game, Olivia Matela drained a long 3-pointer to put the finishing touches on nine straight points to give St. John's a 39-22 advantage. Peabody answered back with ten consecutive points of there own to draw within seven. But it was simply too late. Katie Watts hit a jump shot from the left side and then assisted on another Faye Parker hoop to polish off a 43-35 St. John's win. 

Besides Parker's triple double, Olivia Matela added 9 points with 3 assists and Maggie Barden had 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. With the win, St. John's heads to the Division II playoff as the top seed and will take on St. Pius of Lynn next Sunday.

McIntire Leads St. John's Victory

February 2, 2014

At the Breed Middle School in Lynn, the Boys Cadets took on Sacred Heart of East Boston in their regular season finale. Led by Jake McIntire's 21 points, St. John's took early control and although the game was close at times, took an easy victory. 

St. John's scored the first four points of the game on a Jake McIntire jumper off an out of bounds play and a Ben Turner basket on a pass from Chris Legere. East Boston roared back to take the lead but St. John's answered with another Jake McIntire roll. He scored off an offensive rebound, a pull up jumper and then fed Max Solone for a 10-5 lead. After a Sacred Heart free throw, Max Solone hit a 3-pointer assisted by McIntire. Brendan Bradley followed with a jumper and then McIntire took a steal the length of the court to make it 17-6 with 10:06 on the clock. Sacred Heart would rally back to within single digits but it was McIntire again answering with a drive to make it 19-9. Just under three minutes later, McKeon Midland took a down low feed and then found Cole Cassidy wide open on the left side. Cassidy hit nothing but net from just beyond the 3-point arc to make it 22-11. Sacred Heart tried to rally back but St. John's had the answer every time. Next up was Jake Bartram. He drained a long 3-pointer from the left corner to maintain a double digit lead with 5:29 to go. With time winding down in the half, East Boston had cut the lead to eight and had the ball, but Jake Goldman came up with a steal and took it end to end for a lay up with 7 seconds left to make the score 33-23 at halftime in favor of St. John's. 

Sacred Heart of East Boston would not go quietly. they quickly cut the lead to six at the start of the second half. It took St. John's nearly five minutes to finally get on the board with a McKeon Midland put back of an offensive miss to make it 35-27. They followed up with another McIntire full court dash for a hoop and a Max Pegnato jumper to restore the double digit lead. But Sacred Heart kept hanging around. Ben Turner countered a Sacred Heart field goal with a rainbow hook in the paint and McIntire made 1 of 2 free throws to make the score 42-29. Despite their efforts, St. John's couldn't put the game away. Sacred Heart came crawling back again to make it 42-34. Jack Leahy followed assisted by Jackson Byrne to start a 6-0 St. John's run to make it 48-34 with 5:01 remaining. The win would still not come easily, with the score down to 48-41, St. John's would go to the long ball. Cole Cassidy made his second 3-point shot of the game and Zach Elwell followed with a 3-pointer of his own to make it 54-41 with 3:11 left in the game. St. John's would cruise from their to take a hard fought 58-43 win. 

Jake McIntire led St. John's with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. McKeon Midland added 9 rebounds while Cole Cassidy(6 points) and Max Solone(5 points)played well in the win. St. John's will compete in the Division II playoffs next week.