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MaST Charter bounces back with 50-42 win over Delco Christian

01/30/2017, 11:30pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Matt Carter (above) and MaST Charter snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Delco Christian. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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As MaST Community Charter coach Dan Tirendi called timeout, all the moment was on Delco Christian’s side.

The Knights had cut what had been a 10-point deficit in half in a matter of seconds midway through the third quarter, with a home-friendly crowd getting behind its team in its battle for first place in the Bicentennial Athletic League’s Presidents division.

Even the Delco Christian PA announcer got in on the act, blasting the Backstreet Boys’ “We’ve Got it Goin’ On” over the soundsystem.

“We were playing out of control, we turned the ball over a couple of times, I called a timeout, I tried to settle the guys down, I think it helped,” Tirendi said. “I just told them we’re better than this.”

In previous years, Tirendi’s words wouldn’t have carried nearly as much weight, considering the program’s track record.

But there’s a reason this is by far the best boys’ basketball team MaST Charter -- short for Math, Science & Technology Community Charter School -- has seen in its not-too-long basketball history. And a recent two-game losing streak aside, the Panthers did believe they were better than that.

So although though Delco Christian did eventually battle back to take the lead early in the fourth, MaST Charter was not to be denied, finishing strong defensively to hold on for a 50-42 win on the road.

In one fell swoop, MaST Charter (14-5, 9-5) ended that two-game skid and re-established itself atop the BAL Presidents, a game ahead of Delco Christian (10-8, 8-6) and a half-game up on whoever wins the Bristol/Christopher Dock game that also took place Monday evening.

“We kind of had a chip on our shoulder coming into this game, we lost the last three, everyone thought we were going to lose this one,” MaST senior guard Matt Carter said. “Hopefully we get on a hot streak now.”

Carter, a 6-foot-3 guard and the first 1,000-point scorer in Panthers boys’ basketball history and the team’s go-to scorer, finished with a game-high 17 points, including a trio of first-half 3-pointers.

On a rough shooting night for both teams -- MaST Charter got 16-for-46 (.349) overall and Delco Christian just 17-for-52 (.327) -- Carter also went for stretches where he couldn’t connect. Fellow senior Shane Henehan was there to pick him up.


Shane Henehan (above) put together a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Henehan, a 6-1 guard, had 14 points and 10 rebounds (four offensive), plus four assists and three steals.

“He played really well, we needed him to step up with Matt not shooting the ball particularly well,” Tirendi said. “He’s another senior leader we have, we have seven seniors on the team, which really helps us too, there’s a lot of maturity.”

That senior class has come a long way, since they were freshmen on the team -- MaST Charter doesn't have a junior varsity or freshman squad -- during a 2013-14 season that saw the Panthers go 3-18 overall and 0-12 during Bicentennial League play. The year before was even worse for the program, losing all 13 of its BAL matchups; in 2014-15, they won three league games.

Last year was another improvement at 7-14 overall and 4-11 in league play.

So to call this season a breakthrough might just be an understatement.

“Feels great," Henehan said. "Most of the seniors here were on the team freshman year, so it feels good to keep building up every year."

All the success has come with a first-year head coach in the 40-year-old Tirendi, who spent last season as an assistant with the program. He's been coaching Carter since fifth grade, working with him at St. Anselm CYO.

"I didn’t know how he would translate from middle school to high school," Carter said. "But he’s doing a really good job, he’s helping us on and off the floor.”

Tirendi's advice was enough to help the team survive Delco Christian and senior T.J. Tann on Monday night.

Tann, a 5-9 guard, nearly single-handedly erased that double-digit deficit late in the third quarter, scoring on steal-and-layups on three consecutive possessions to cut what had been a 30-20 MaST lead to just 35-34 going into the fourth.

A layup by senior guard Jordan Parks (11 points) briefly put Delco Christian up a point early in the fourth, but Henehan responded with a layup for the final lead change of the game; Carter followed with a steal-and-finish to make it a 3-point game.

Tann finished with a team-high 16 points for Delco Christian before departing in the final two minutes with a left leg injury he suffered on a layup attempt.

MaST Charter didn't exactly lock the game away at the foul line, going 7-for-17 from the stripe in the fourth quarter (13-for-25 for the game), but it was enough.

A reverse layup from senior Greg Wenclawiak (10 points, 5 rebounds) with under two minutes to go helped finish things off.

The Panthers have two more games to go to lock up their President division title and a top spot in the 16-team BAL playoffs, playing Calvary Christian on Thursday and Bristol on Saturday.

Carter knows what it'll take to get it done.

“Staying composed on defense and offense, not getting trapped, not turning the ball over," he said. "That’s what’s been our weakness lately, turnovers -- we’ve got to decrease the turnovers and we’ll be fine.”


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