CHARLESTOWN — With Burke down a pair of starters and its head coach because of sickness, Charlestown nonetheless wanted all 32 minutes to place away a feisty program at house final evening.
An enormous first half for a freshman and a powerful shut by a sophomore was greater than sufficient for the Townies to carry off the visiting Bulldogs 84-68 on Thursday in a Boston City League South showdown.
“We worked hard and we knew it was going to be a good game,” stated Charlestown coach Hugh Coleman. “We knew it was going to be a challenge. (Burke) is a great team. They are the defending city champs, so we knew what to expect. They actually had a couple people down, including their point guard and coach. I already knew it was going to be a battle, but going to Burke will be another dogfight.”
Freshman Jaylen Hunter-Coleman stepped up early with 11 of his first-half 17 factors within the first quarter as Charlestown (7-1) went up 21-13 after one. The Townies have been up 41-30 on the half.
“(Hunter-Coleman) is a hard worker,” Coleman stated. “He works really hard in the offseason. He’s an underdog. Everything is fuel for him. He’s one of the best kids you will ever meet. His work ethic has paid off.”
Hunter-Coleman completed with a game-high 33 factors whereas going 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
In the third, Charlestown stored up the offensive strain and have been up 57-40 after an Alex Wilkins triple. Burke (7-1) began to chip away at that time and a Matt Drayton (23 factors) triple reduce the deficit right down to 59-52 with two minutes to go within the body. The Townies led 62-54 after three.
With the Bulldogs combating again, sophomore Jaylin Crawford-Williams slammed house a pair dunks to push the lead again to 70-58. Burke made it a 72-66 contest with 3:30 left earlier than a pair of free throws from Crawford-Williams made it 76-66 with 2:34 remaining.
Crawford-Williams completed with 16 factors, 13 boards, 5 blocks and 5 assists and was an enormous half on each ends of the ground all night.
“(Crawford-Williams) has put in a lot of hard work,” stated Coleman. “He has come a long way from a few years ago. He’s a very important piece of what we are trying to do.”
The groups will meet once more Feb. 6.
“I look forward to meeting them again,” Coleman stated concerning the rematch in lower than a month. “They are a good team. In order to get ready for the (city tournament) as well as states, you need to play challenging teams. (Burke) is the defending champ until someone else wins the crown.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com