Boys’ basketball overcame the Brookline Warriors in an electric 61-57 Senior Night victory, Friday, Feb. 6.
The gym, decked with orange and black balloons and streamers, was packed with North students who came to support their seniors and energize the team. The student section’s cheers were loud, as it eagerly anticipated the opening tip off.
“The energy was outstanding, the crowd was great,” said special education teacher John McNamara, the head coach. “Everyone did a great job supporting, and the kids came out.” Right off the bat, it became clear that defeating Brookline would be no easy task. Junior Julian Zazak scored the Tigers’ first bucket of the game, but it soon became a defensive battle.
Both teams traded steals and turnovers early on, as they struggled to get their offenses going. At the end of the defense-heavy quarter, the Warriors led 7-6.
Early in the frame of the second quarter, junior Quinn Connors drew a charge to hype up North’s student section. Only a few possessions later, North picked up a confounding technical foul, followed by an exchange of chants between the student sections.
According to McNamara, junior Jake Lyons stood out as he converted a tough reverse layup to tie the game midway through the quarter, then dropping in a fadeaway midrange jumper, as the buzzer signaled the end of the first half.
“Lyons had an outstanding all-around game,” said McNamara. He added that Lyons played excellent defense in the first half, and down the stretch, hit some clutch shots.
The Tigers were down 18-19 going into halftime.
Coming out of half, the switch flipped for both teams. After no threes were made in the first half, junior Bryson Mercedes drained in his look from beyond the arc to rejuvenate the Tigers’ offense.
“Mercedes made some huge plays down the stretch,” McNamara said. “I thought we were real tentative early, but once we settled in, I thought we made some big plays.”
North’s excellent offense continued in the third quarter as senior Kam Jones hit a fastbreak three to put the Tigers up by four.
Brookline followed suit, showcasing a beautiful team offense of its own to stay in the game.
Mercedes and senior Amaris Cotto both drilled corner threes in the final two minutes of the quarter. Heading into the last eight minutes, North led 42-36.
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter and a tied score, senior captain Luke Washek fouled out of the game. As the clock displayed sixty seconds, Mercedes dropped in a massive three from the corner to put the Tigers up by three. North held its defense tight to secure a 61-57 victory.
The win came just a few days after a high-scoring 67-63 victory against Natick. North, 12-5, won against the Redhawks for a second time February 8, and almost doubled Weymouth’s points 64-37 February 10. They will take on Boston College High Saturday, Feb. 14.
