Belmont upends Latin Academy in Div. 2 North semifinal

One season after taking home the sectional crown, Belmont will have a chance to defend its title.

Preston Jackson-Stephens scored 26 points while Tim Minicozzi added 23 more as No. 3 Belmont edged out No. 2 Boston Latin Academy, 72-64, in the Div. 2 North Semifinals on Wednesday night at Wakefield High School.

Belmont (19-4) will look to earn a second consecutive trip to the TD Garden when they take on top-seeded Beverly in the Div. 2 North Final on Saturday.

“Experience is not to be overlooked in terms of confidence,” Belmont coach Adam Pritchard said. “Our guys believe in themselves and teammates, and we’re pretty lucky to have the experience in these games that we do.”

Belmont trailed 33-29 at the break, but came out firing to begin the second half to jump in front. Mac Annus (17 points) drilled a corner three, Tim Minicozzi hit two of his own, and then Jackson-Stephens finished in transitioned as part of an 11-4 run that pushed Belmont in front, 40-37. The Marauders gained some separation late in the third quarter when an Annus second chance three-pointer went down to stretch the lead up to nine, but BLA came storming back.

Abdulahi Aden (33 points) connected at the rim and swished a three-pointer around a Mason Lawson layup to tie the game at 54 with four minutes left. Jackson-Stephens kept the Marauders afloat finishing a runner in the lane and hitting a foul line jumper to give Belmont a 63-62 edge. BLA had a chance to take the lead with less than a minute remaining but missed a pair at the charity stripe and Minicozzi and Annus combined to hit four consecutive free throws to put the game out of reach.

“(BLA) was a really tough team,” Minicozzi said. “We really fought in the second half. We started making shots and we just played tougher defense.”

In the first half Aden helped BLA jump out to an early lead as his 11 first quarter points gave the Dragons a 19-11 advantage after one. Jackson-Stephens and Minicozzi kept Belmont within striking distance with a pair baskets in the second quarter, but Aden once again scored in transition late in the frame to give BLA a four-point half time advantage at the half.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3azs1r3