Category Archives: Lawrence Academy

January 14, 2015 · 10:03 pm

Lawrence Academy defeats Governor’s Academy 52-43 in ISL matchup

Sherron Dailey-Harris leads the break for Lawrence Academy

shot-block attempt

(Byfield MA) Lawrence Academy gained separation early in the second half and defeated Governor’s Academy, 52-43, in an ISL game on Wednesday night.

LA (2-8) snapped a five-game losing streak with the win. The Govs (3-6) now have lost four straight.

After four lead changes in the first half the visitors from Groton put eight unanswered points together taking a 27-20 lead. Nick Lynch, Sherron Dailey-Harris, and Martin Mann were the point-getters in the breakaway segment.

There was plenty of time left (12+ minutes) for a GA comeback but the Spartan’s zone defense forced outside shots and on this evening GA had no answers from there. The Govs didn’t hit a single 3-pointer.

Governor’s also did not take good care of the ball, recording twenty-two turnovers. Four of the miscues led to breakaway layups, three by sophomore Sherron Dailey-Harris.

Elijah Earley (12 points) led a GA rally in the second half

The Spartans had their biggest lead, 40-27, with five minutes left. Game over? Someone forgot to tell the Govs’ Elijah Earley and Nick Osarenren. That twosome guided the Govs on a 12-4 run that put GA within four (44-39) with two minutes left. The outcome was no longer certain.

However, the rest of the way LA displayed the ability to pass over and get through GA’s full-court pressure without turnovers. Sherron Dailey-Harris and Tim Preston cashed layups for LA while 6-6 Nick Lynch added two loud dunks to seal the victory for the Spartans.

Junior Demitri Jackson had an impressive two-minute run of hustle basketball in the second half converting three offensive rebounds into baskets.

Lawrence Academy finished with three players in double figures: Sherron Dailey-Harris (11), sophomore Luke Benoit (10), and Nick Lynch (10).

Senior Elijah Earley (12 points) paced GA.

Nick Lynch jam

Senior Tim Preston of LA made the only 3-point shot in the game.

6-8 Matt Peart will play football for UConn in the fall.

The poor GA shooting extended to the foul line as well where they were only 7-for-14.

Both teams resume action on Friday at home. The Govs play Thayer Academy while the Spartans take on Worcester Academy.

Basketball players from Endicott College were on hand for this one.

Lawrence Academy boxscore

Governor’s Academy boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Jalyn Hinton

Eddy Fish and Luke Benoit

Tyler Harrington and Martin Mann

Jalyn Hinton finishes

Jalyn Hinton and Tim Preston

Matt Peart shoots over Nick Lynch

Freshman Shane Smith runs into some tight defense

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Filed under Governor's Academy, Lawrence Academy

Tagged as Elijah Earley, Luke Benoit, Matt Peart, Nick Lynch, Sherron Dailey-Harris, Tim Preston

February 26, 2014 · 9:57 pm

Governor’s Academy reaches NEPSAC Class B semifinals with 45-36 win over Lawrence Academy

Action during the GA/LA quarterfinals game

Courtney Cashman (17 points) tries to shoot over Gabrielle Reuter (16 points)

(Byfield MA) Twelve days ago, the Lawrence Academy girls hung on at Byfield for a, 37-36, win over Governor’s Academy. The rematch today figured to be a close game and it was.

Governor’s Academy controlled the beginning and the end this time around and that was enough to defeat Lawrence Academy, 45-36, in the NEPSAC girls’ quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon.

The Govs (13-8) put ten straight points together to start this game but the Spartans recovered and even had the lead in the second half.

Lawrence Academy (12-9), however, did not recover from a 2 1/2 minute scoring drought at the end of the game. LA was within two points (38-36) but all seven points the rest of the way were GA free throws.

Governor’s Courtney Cashman paced her team with seventeen points. Courtney (sophomore) swished four straight free throws in the last two minutes.

Gabrielle Reuter drives

Sophomore Gabrielle Reuter led LA with sixteen points.

Governor’s advances to the Class B semi-finals at Tilton School. The #1 seed Rams are 19-3 and buried GA, 68-28, at Byfield on January 11th. Tilton won the Class B championship last year and has been in the championship game five straight times. They will be a formidable opponent for GA to say the least!

In my opinion, Lawrence Academy lost this game because of turnovers. They had twenty-seven miscues, by my figuring, and all of them were in the frontcourt. Way too many empty possessions because of dangerous passes by the visitors from Groton (MA).

The Spartans had five turnovers in the first 4+ minutes and no points. Meanwhile, GA junior Carli Citrano was cooking for the Govs. Carli started the scoring with a three and later had two inside baskets as the Govs raced off to a 10-0 start.

Carli Citrano looks to pass

The visitors were still down by ten (16-6) halfway through the half before a GA scoring drought and a run of nine straight LA points aligned themselves. Sophomore Gabrielle Reuter had a jump shot, layup, and free throw in the LA comeback segment. Lawrence Academy was within one (16-15) with 3 1/2 minutes to go in the first half.

GA led, 22-18, at the half.

Lawrence Academy pulled in front, 27-25, early in the second half on a run of six points featuring a fastbreak layup by Jalian Marquez and four free throws.

Carli Citrano reaches in against Elise Bojanowski

Two minutes later, Courtney Cashman converted her own miss and GA had the lead back (29-28) with eleven minutes left. The home team would stay ahead the rest of the game.

A layup by Gabrielle Reuter on a pass from Emily Pratt had LA behind just, 36-34, with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.

The GA lead was still only two (38-36) with 2 1/2 minutes left. I was anticipating another one-point game between these two teams. It never happened.

The Spartans couldn’t make a shot and were forced to foul to stop the clock. The Govs hit seven of ten pressure free throws to ice this one for the #4 seed.

Both teams had the same record and LA had defeated the Govs during the season yet Governor’s still got the home game. Why? They had defeated better opponents.

Some GA boys’ team arrived in a group to offer encouragement to the girls’ team.

Emily Pratt and Isa Berzansky

The unsung hero for the Govs was Isa Berzansky. At some point in the second half, Isa took over defending Emily Pratt and did a terrific job. Emily struggled to get shots off and had only two points in the second half.

The Govs ended up with twenty-one turnovers.

Both Gabrielle Reuter and Emily Pratt were chosen for the NEPSAC Class B East All-Star team.

Is there a faster combo than the look-alike Ham sisters? When seniors Jackie (#2) and Kendall (#3) are on the floor at the same time, mistaken identity becomes a strong likelihood. I’m reaching for excuses for messing up their stats!

Governor’s Academy box

Lawrence Academy box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Jackie Ham goes for the block against Tate Jordan

Jalian Marquez looks to shoot

Tate Jordan lines up a free throw

Kendall Ham dribbles

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Filed under Governor's Academy, Lawrence Academy

Tagged as Carli Citrano, Courtney Cashman, Emily Pratt, Gabrielle Reuter, Isa Berzansky, Jackie Ham, Kendall Ham

January 17, 2011 · 9:44 pm

Lawrence Academy Beats Governor’s Academy 71-47 With a Strong Second Half

Colin Smith (#30) feels some of the tight Lawrence Academy second half defense.

(Byfield) A rousing second half by the visiting Lawrence Academy Spartans sent them past Governor’s Academy, 71-47, on Monday evening.

LA (5-6) had an 18-2 run over six minutes late in the second half and turned a competitive game (53-41) into a blowout (71-43) with 2:15 left. GA (3-4) scored the last four points of the game but this one, by then, was in the bag for the Spartans.

The last time I saw Lawrence Academy was on March 7th at Endicott College when they, led by Shabazz Napier (now at Uconn), completed a 29-0 season with a win over St. Mark’s in the Class C New England championships. I learned before today’s game that the stars from that team had moved on.

In this game, the visitors from Groton allowed GA to hang around in the first half (38-32) by being long-range happy (fifteen 3-point attempts). The Spartans had the slashers and inside presence to do better and they did in the second half. Their inside game earned them a steady flow of high percentage shots or free throws. On the other end, the Spartans forced GA into low percentage shots and dominated the boards.

GA had no more easy shots after halftime warm-ups. They were defensed into a lot of one-and-done’s and were a dismal 6-for-35 on shots attempted (17%) in the second half.

In thirty-four second half possessions the home team had only five second chances. LA was obviously great on the glass.

James Gomes of Governor’s Academy

Senior James Gomes paced the Govs, as he usually does, with eighteen points. It is no mystery that he is their main scoring threat. The 5-11 senior creates his own offense. He appeared to have some sort of thigh problem in the second half. He was the only Gov to reach double figures.

The Spartans were led by Johnnie Vassar and Clay Horne. Both had fifteen points. Johnnie was a fearless slasher despite his guard size. Clay was a finisher near the basket.

Clay Horne – two straight dunks in the second half

Clay had consecutive highlight dunks late in the second half. The first was a one-stepper when a teammate penetrating found him alone in close. The second was a putback on a missed shot. I had my camera. If I’d only known!

The Spartans also had double digit scoring from Marcus Grant (12) and Dan Giovacchini (11).

This game was a far cry from the no-students, Hebron game I last saw at Governor‘s. Plenty of students around this time.

On-the-scene tidbits: Before the game started a GA authority figure moved a collection of male students from behind the Lawrence bench probably to prevent some unkind verbal exchanges. Later a collection of female GA students sat behind the Lawrence bench and, doing my eavesdropping best, I heard that one of the Gov players had lost his girlfriend!

(I keep my own stats and take my own pictures. I avoid interviewing participants. All conclusions and statistics are subject to unintentional error as a result on my part.)

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Filed under Governor's Academy, Lawrence Academy

Tagged as Clay Horne, Colin Smith, Dan Giovacchini, Governors' Academy, Groton, James Gomes, Johnnie Vassar, Lawrence Academy, Marcus Grant, Shabazz Napier

March 7, 2010 · 10:28 pm

Lawrence Academy (Class C) and Tilton School (Class B) Win NEPSAC Titles

(Beverly) I took in the Class C and Class B finals in the NEPSAC boys’ tournament at Endicott on Sunday afternoon.

The athleticism and action of these prep stars is always a treat. Hardcore fans know that warm-ups will usually produce highlight-reel dunking shows.

Stars of the future take part. A few years ago, Andray Blache was on hand for South Kent.

Jaymie Spears – The former Georgetown High player, now with St. Mark’s School had a long afternoon in the Class C finals against Lawrence Academy

I went to see Jaymie Spears, formerly of Georgetown High School. I was pleased to see that not only was he on the St. Mark’s Lions roster but he was also a starter.

Once the game started, however, the former MVP of the Cape Ann League as a sophomore, had a nightmare game.

The Lions lost 55-43 and struggled against the spirited defense of undersized Lawrence Academy. Jaymie got into trouble early with three turnovers that led to a couple of baskets.

The third turnover raised the frustration level of Coach Dave Lubick because Jaymie tried to go behind his back down the lane, was stripped and LA got a layup.

Jaymie had a steal and a rebound in the second ten minutesof the first half but missed two free throws, a trey, and a jumper from the left. However, St. Mark’s trailed just 22-20 at the half.

The second half didn’t go well either. Jaymie had good looks at a couple of three’s in the first five minutes and missed, getting pulled immediately after the second miss. He had a couple of more looks at three’s later in the game and reluctantly shot them and missed both. He did make two free throws in the last minute.

Therefore, he ended up with an unimpressive 0-for-6 shooting and three turnovers. However, he’s a sophomore at St. Mark’s and getting a chance to play with top-flight players. One of the seniors has a scholarship to Georgetown.

Shabazz Napier (#10) of Lawrence Academy hangs in for a layup versus St. Mark’s

The dazzler for St. Lawrence (29-0) was Shabazz Napier. This guard is listed as a junior and I can assure you that D1 colleges know all about him. He’s a great defender with speed to get open anywhere he wanted to. His passing was noteworthy as well. He was the MVP of the tourney.

I also saw Tilton School avenge an earlier loss to Marianapolis Prep School (Thompson CT) with a 69-61 win.

Tilton took control early and had depth that was amazing. They started great players, went to the bench, and brought in more great players. They put on an eye-catching pregame show with a freshman named Goodluck Okonoboh (6’7”) and a junior (Ryan Canty) displaying a variety of jams.

Ryan (6’9”) was a dominating presence. He is not only tall but also big and strong. Marianapolis had no one who could deal with him. During the game he did take a very hard fall on a breakaway when one of the Marianapolis players clobbered him to the ground. No foul was called and Ryan got up and played on.

Gerald Coleman (20 points) of Tilton is heading for Providence and it won’t take him long to get there with his speed! This was another player with all the ingredients to be great – shooter, quick, defender, and passer.

Gerald was the MVP of the Class B tournament.

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Filed under Jaymie Spears, Lawrence Academy, Marianapolis, St. Mary's, Tilton

Tagged as Gerald Coleman, Ike Azotam, Jaymie Spears, Lawrence Academy, Marianapolis Prep School, Ryan Canty, Shabazz Napier, St. Mark's School, Tilton School