LYNN — For 16 minutes, it was a game in the boys final for the top division of the Spartan Classic on Tuesday evening.
Then, like a tidal wave, points flowed in for St. Mary’s in the third quarter, and Newburyport didn’t stand a chance.
Outscoring the Clippers 32-8 in the third quarter, the Spartans all but locked up the top seed in the upcoming Division 2 state tournament as Rolky Brea-Arias’ 20 points led four players in double figures in a 79-55 Spartan rout.
“There really was a big-time difference in the second half,” St. Mary’s coach Josh Keilty said. “We didn’t feel great about the first half, but the guys came out and got stops and made some huge shots.”
Newburyport (17-2) trailed by 10 late in the first half, but Cal Atherton (20 points) and Zayd Leanna (18 points) led a 12-0 run to close the half that gave them a 35-33 lead.
But within 90 seconds to begin the third quarter, that lead was gone thanks to an 8-0 run keyed by a pair of huge baskets from senior Gabe Sykes.
Atherton scored five straight for the Clippers, cutting the lead to three at 43-40. From there on, however, it was all Spartans (19-3) to end the third.
Sykes, Brea-Arias, Rowan Merryman (12 points), John Chareas (14 points) and Jake Fortier (19 points) took turns shredding the Clippers defense. But the time they finished, the Spartans had closed the third on a 22-3 run to lead 65-43.
“Those guards they have are really good, and John, Jason Perry and Rowan did a great job on them in the second half,” Keilty said.
It was a frenetic pace in the early going as neither team could get a stop in the opening eight minutes, which ended in a 19-19 deadlock.
Brea-Arias began to dominate the paint in the second quarter as the Spartans opened with a 14-4 spurt to grab a 33-23 lead.
