New Mission rallies to catch East Boston By: Danny Ventura (Boston Herald)

New Mission coach Cory McCarthy admittedly prefers to let his team work through tough stretches on the floor.

But when East Boston bumped the lead to 44-30 midway through the third quarter in yesterday’s Black History Month Classic, McCarthy knew it was time to regroup.

The fifth-ranked Titans (16-3) responded after the timeout, going on a 10-0 run to get back into the game. From there, it was Darius Davis and Samir McDaniels who took over in the fourth quarter, combining for 18 points as New Mission prevailed, 65-58, at Emmanuel College.

“I usually don’t call timeouts when the other team is on a run, but I think that timeout was critical,” McCarthy said. “I told the guys they had nothing but heart left, no excuses. I expected us to make a run, we knew it was going to be a close game - it’s New Mission and East Boston.”

These same two teams will meet again on Thursday in the semifinals of the Boston City League championship at Madison Park. McCarthy decided to have a little fun at East Boston’s expense, throwing a few wrinkles out there.

“I mean we played zone, when have we ever played zone?” McCarthy said with a laugh. “Let’s give them something else to worry about.”

East Boston (14-4) led throughout most of the first three quarters, getting quality play from point guard Walter Lewis (18 points), Kenny Ramos (10 points, six rebounds) and Jeff Amazan (13 points). Lewis’ layup keyed a 15-2 run to give the Jets their biggest lead at 44-30 with 3:44 remaining in the third quarter.

New Mission chipped away at the lead and took the lead at 53-52 with 2:44 left on a floater by Darius (13 points, all coming in the second half). Davis then added a pair of short jumpers in the lane to help open up some daylight in the final two minutes.

“I don’t care about the McDonald’s All-American nominees and all the stuff like that. I love the other two guys (McDaniels and Kachi Nzerem), but Darius has been our steadiest basketball player all year,” said McCarthy. “When Darius is on, we execute so well.”

Mission rallies past Eastie, ready for...Eastie By Brendan Hall (ESPN Boston)

BOSTON -- With the Boston City League semifinals three days away, and his New Mission Titans set to face East Boston yet again in the nightcap at Madison Park High School, head coach Cory McCarthy played today's matchup with the Jets close to the vest -- not unlike the way, say, a professional sports team would handle an exhibition game against a divisional opponent.

Why else would the Titans, revered so much for their aggressive man-to-man defense, go to a zone?

"Do you ever see us play zone?" McCarthy asked reporters rhetorically, with a stern pause and a chuckle, following the Titans' 65-58 win over Eastie in the Black History Month Classic at Emmanuel College's Yawkey Center. "Why not? Can't show all your cards, you know? [Eastie head coach] Malcolm [Smith] is a smart guy. I have all the respect in the world for that guy, he's the best coach in the city of Boston.

"So I've got to beat that guy, you know? So I've got to throw a wrinkle, because I want to win City's."

Perhaps, then, that can be partially to blame for the Titans' lethargy through the first 20 minutes of action in this one. Sitting back in a 2-3 zone, it took the Titans (15-3) some getting used to the different ball instincts such a look requires. McCarthy and his assistants found themselves constantly yelling at their players to collapse to the middle, and force the Jets shooters to knock down outside shots.

Ahead 27-25 at the half, Eastie (16-4) opened up the third quarter on a 17-5 run, with a handful of points in transition from Walter Lewis (18 points) and Kenny Ramos (10). The Jets were not only outmuscling their way to rebounds, but getting up and down the court at will. They took their largest lead, 44-30, on a layup with 3:44 to go, and that prompted McCarthy to immediately call a timeout, stressing a need to get back to the basics.

"I usually don't call timeouts when teams go on runs on us," McCarthy said. "But that timeout was critical, where we decided that, you know, we've got nothing but heart left. Sometimes when you don't have anything, you've got to show resolve. We've been doing that all year. There's no excuse. We battle adversity all the time, so I expected us to make a run."

Mission outscored Eastie 35-18 over the final 11 minutes, taking the lead for good with four baskets from senior guard Darius Davis (13 points) in the final three minutes. First, the 6-foot-3 Davis came up with a steal on the perimeter, and pulled up for a 15-footer to cut Eastie's lead to 52-51.

The next trip down, Davis' runner in the lane put the Titans ahead 53-52; he then pulled the same move a minute later for a 55-55 score, before finishing it off with a jumper to make it 59-55 with 1:20 to go.

"We knew with our history, we could make a run," Davis said. "We knew we had to stay calm, Cory told us 'Don't panic, stay with the team, concentrate and don't try to do too much'."

On the ensuing possession, Eastie's Jeff Amazon (13 points) charged through the lane, but senior Samir McDaniels (19 points, eight rebounds) met him right in front of the basket, getting a no-call but getting sent to the line at the other end. He made both free throws, to make it 61-55 with 58.8 seconds left. McDaniels finished the afternoon nearly perfect from the charity stripe, going 11 for 12.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CLASSIC 2/21 @ EMMANUEL COLLEGE

Public School Event I (Emmanuel College)

12:30pm - New Mission HS vs. East Boston HS
2:00pm - Everett HS vs. Lowell HS

Independant School Event II (Emmanuel College)

3:30pm - Lee Academy (ME) vs. NIA Prep National Team (NJ)