BOSTON – Matt Draheim took issues the place Eagles dare.
The senior guard netted a game-high 27 factors, together with 15 within the first half, because the Thirteenth-seeded Boston College High School boys basketball staff defeated Twentieth-seeded Lowell 75-58, within the first spherical of the Division 1 state event.
“It feels very good,” mentioned Draheim, whose staff opened the season at 1-6. “We obviously had a slow start to the season. We came such a long way, and now winning the first round of the playoffs, we’ll see what we can do from here.”
A 6-foot senior guard, Draheim opened the sport by netting the Eagles’ first 10 factors, together with hitting a pair of treys to seize a 20-3 lead.
BC junior captain Ivan Yhomby (12 factors) – the lone leftover from final yr’s state championship run – added eight factors within the stanza. And with James Jones (12 factors) wheeling and dealing beneath the basket, the Eagles shortly established a 16-3 benefit with 3:16 left within the quarter.
According to Lowell coach Bob Michalczyk, his staff let this one slip away.
“(BC) were enormous, but we missed a bunch of layups and missed a bunch of free throws,” mentioned Michalczyk. “If we don’t do that the game is a different story. We would have been down by three in the second half. It would have been a 1-2 possession game in the fourth. It sounds simple, but that’s kind of what it was.”
Meanwhile, BC High utilized its vocal fan base, giving them an extra elevate.
“That fast start was so important,” mentioned Draheim. “We got the crowd into it super early. That run to start was very big and the crowd helped us out, pushing us through the game.”
BC High coach Bill Loughnane mentioned the breakout was key.
“We put in some special design plays,” mentioned Loughnane, in his nineteenth season on the helm. “We wanted to get a quick start against this team. They’re just too quick to play from behind. We were lucky enough to get it, and lucky enough to take care of business.”
Fresh off a 61-52 preliminary spherical win over Malden, Feb. 28, the Red Raiders had been compelled to play catch-up the remainder of the competition, chopping it to 18-12 by the tip of the primary quarter.
Lowell junior ahead Xavier Rivera helped rally the troops. The 6-foot-5 ahead discovered his footing by potting 15 first-half factors, together with a pair of treys.
“X was fantastic,” mentioned Michalczyk. “This might be the best I’ve seen him play. I was very proud of him tonight. He set the tone. It could have gotten bad very quickly early on if he didn’t play like he did.”
Meanwhile, Lowell senior captain Javier Kirmil additionally confirmed loads of coronary heart and resilience. The 5-foot-11 guard buried a trey within the closing seconds of the half chopping the lead result in 37-22 on the half.
He continued to chip away spearheading a valiant second half push netting a team-high 25 factors, bringing Lowell inside 10 factors of the Eagles.
“Javien is a competitor that plays hard and can shoot the ball really well,” mentioned Michalczyk. “I think he might have hit three 3s in a row to give us some life and momentum. I’ve been very happy with him over the past few years.”
Losing only one senior, the coach is wanting ahead to seeing with the long run holds within the years to come back.
“I hope our younger guys, which is most of our team, take what they learned move on and get better with it. They played hard. They’ve just got to learn more fundamentals and be more students of the game,” he mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com