Published Jan 20, 2003
Bay State Teams Add Local Flavor to Invitational
Russ Blake
Publisher
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Like any good national caliber event, the 2nd Annual Basketball Hall of Fame High School Invitational featured a sampling of local squads.
Four Springfield area high schools competed in the event on Sunday, and Rivalshoops.com watched to see if any sleepers would emerge.
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Here is a recap of how those games unfolded:
Longmeadow 64 Minnechaug 59 (OT)
In a battle of local squads, forward Evan Hannay collected 15 points and 12 rebounds and guard Tim Suber added 17 points to lead Longmeadow to the win. A key steal in the waning seconds of overtime sealed the win for Longmeadow. Minnechaug Regional was led by swingman Will Lyons' 24 points in defeat.
Springfield Commerce 62 Boston English 49
Football prospect Mike Vaz showed that he can hoop it up too, scoring 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds as Springfield Commerce H.S. pulled away for the 13 point victory. One sleeper to emerge in this game was rugged 6-6, 225 pound power forward Tim Brown, who ripped down 19 rebounds for Commerce. Knowledge Miller, English's 6-2 senior guard, led all scorers with 24 points. However, Miller hoisted 25 shots to get those points, and as a team, English shot just 29 percent from the field. A player to keep an eye on for Boston English will be 6-6 sophomore forward Andres Lyons, who collected eight points and six rebounds in defeat.
Charlestown 77 Springfield Central 72
The school that produced NBAer Travis Best, Springfield Central, hung in for a while, but perennial Boston power Charlestown H.S. held on for a five point victory over the Golden Eagles. Clinging to a 59-58 lead, the Townies used an 8-1 run to take a 67-59 edge with 4:13 remaining. Senior guard Javarol Burke hit a long two pointer and a three pointer to cap the run. Central got no closer than four points the rest of the way. Derek Coleman, a 5-10 senior point guard who signed early with Robert Morris, led Charlestown with 16 points and five assists. Shooting guard Tony Lee also hit for 16 points, while junior forward Darryl Lodge added 12 points and six rebounds. Forward Renato Lindmets paced Central with 23 points and eight rebounds, while undersized 6-3 senior forward Justin Watkins ripped down 19 rebounds.