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High school basketball Notebook: Lexington boys ride defense toward playoffs

While many have spent the winter honing in on the heavy hitters in Div. 1, Lexington is out to prove they are built to play with the best.

Led by superstar CJ Cox and veteran captains Kailen Larkin, John Mathurin, Jake Strollo, and Orion Barrett-Tzannes, the Minutemen sit at 13-1 with just two weeks to go until the MIAA State Tournament.

While the season has been sensational at each moment so far for the Minutemen, this past week was a high-point. On Tuesday night Lexington clinched a share of the Middlesex League Freedom with a 60-59 win over Winchester when Cox hit a behind the back pull up at the buzzer. Then, when the tournament’s latest power rankings were unveiled on Thursday, the Minutemen came in at No. 9 in Div. 1 just a point shy of being in the top five.

“This group is connected at both ends of the floor,” Lexington coach Reggie Hobbs said. “Their willingness to hold each other accountable has been huge and then we are just executing right now.”

Defensively the Minutemen have been outstanding allowing more than 60 points in a game four times. On six separate occasions the Minutemen have held opponents in the 40s.

“Our defense has been active and aggressive, which is the key to any good defense,” Hobbs said.

Cox is the focus at the other end of the floor or the Minutemen. Despite each opponent’s best attempts to stop him, Cox is always one step ahead. Using his tight handle and quick first step, Cox is able to get into the lane with ease. When teams slouch off to try and contain his drive, Cox is able to pull up from long range. Depending on his matchup he has the ability to get to the rim with regularity or effortlessly pull up.

“CJ is our guy,” Hobbs said. “He comes in and leads by example every day. For him to hit that game winner against Winchester to give us the share of the league — it was just perfect.”

Jump shots

Feb. 7 was a milestone day for Rockland’s Julia Elie.

Elie — who is one of three sisters to shine for the Bulldogs — scored her 1,000th career point on Monday night in Rockland’s 61-45 win over Carver. Elie scored 31 points in the victory to join her older sister Caroline in being a member of the 1,000-point club. The Bulldogs are 13-3 and hold a two game lead for first place in the South Shore League Tobin. …

As the state tournament nears and the power rankings shape up, tournament officials are preparing for teams who may not be able to host games due to their limited capacity. As set by the Tournament Management Committee, schools must be able to host 250 people in the round of 32, 500 people in the round of 16, and 1,000 people in the round of eight in order to host. If the higher seeded team cannot host, they are allowed to choose a neutral site for the game.

Schools have already been contacted to volunteer to host neutral-site games with over 20 offering up their venue. Another wrinkle was added this week beyond just capacity limits, however, with the Department Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announcing an end to the state-wide mask mandate in schools on Feb. 28 and making it a community decision. While the announcement comes as a relief to many, making it a community decision could throw a wrench in where state-semifinal games are played as it is unlikely the MIAA will look to play games where communities are still enforcing mask requirements.

While the state semifinal venues are not yet set, the Boston Herald is hearing that the state finals could be set for the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell



from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/aTVLQrb
High school basketball Notebook: Lexington boys ride defense toward playoffs High school basketball Notebook: Lexington boys ride defense toward playoffs Reviewed by Admin on February 12, 2022 Rating: 5

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