Spartan
Basketball
2006-2007 Season
 

Team News

Spartan Head Coach Honored By Boston Globe
Savio Prep Spartans' Head Basketball Coach Frank Shea completed his story book ending to an unbelievable season by being named Division 4 'Coach of the Year' by the Boston Globe. Coach Shea guided his under dogged Spartan team all the way to the state finals. The team started slow but gained momentum after upsetting then undefeated Austin Prep on their way to a 21 win season and capturing the North Regional crown. Great work Coach Shea you deserved the honors.

Spartan Players Herald and Globe All Stars
For the Savio Prep Spartans boys basketball team this season has been a great success. The good news keeps coming for the hard working team as senior forwards Justin McNeil and Isaac Jenkins along with junior guard Mike McCarthy were named to the CCL all star team as reported by the both Boston papers the Boston Globe and the other Bo-Rag, the Boston Herald (see opinion below) . Congratulations!

Our Opinion...
It is the opinion of this web site that either or both Isaac Jenkins and Justin McNeil should have been selected by the both Boston papers as All Scholastics. Both players were vital parts to the team and Jenkins was co-MVP for the league. They carried the team to the Garden title game. How could either of these players be left off?... How can the Herald not pick Coach Frank Shea as the Coach of the Year. He led the Spartans to an unbelievable season with a team that no one picked to go all the way. The Boston rag picked a coach from a team that the Spartans beat in the sectional championship game and who coached a team that every one picked to win the whole thing. This Bo-Rag doesn't know their stuff well enough to snub coach Shea who is without a doubt Coach of the Year.

Spartan Basketball Officially Denied Title
The Spartan basketball team's Cinderella season came to end with a 55-52 heartbreaking loss to Cathedral at the Boston Garden. The game was truly a tough loss in what has been a great season for the Spartans. The Spartans were every bit as good as their counterpart and truth be told, late phantom calls by the officials, may have denied the Spartans the title. That being said, Frank Shea, his coaching staff, parents and all the Savio family are tremendously proud of the players and the resolve they displayed in this season. They faced a lot of challenging situations, not least to mention was the uncertainty of the school's future. Throughout it all, the players remained focused and battled their way to a highly successful season. For this, we all thank you and congratulate your efforts.

For the second straight game, the Spartans came out slow, but this time unlike in the game against Ipswich, the Spartans controlled the game. They built a nice 7 point lead midway through the first half on some nice balanced scoring by their two top dogs Isaac Jenkins and Justin McNeill as well as Dennis Buckley. But, they couldn't shake the Cathedral squad and at the end of the first half the Spartans held on to a one point 27-26 lead. In the second half early part of the second half, the tide seem to turn, The Spartans missed some opportunity in close and squandered a few chances from the free throw line. With 10 minutes let to play, Frank Shea called time out as the Cathedral team grabbed the lead 35-34. In the huddle, he asked the team to play tough. And, that they did. Led by the clutch shooting of Mike McCarthy and Jason Ruggiero and the great rebounding of Brian Neidzweicki, the Spartans kept close to their opponents. In fact, at the two minute mark the Spartans were holding on to a slim one point lead. But, Cathedral heated up from the three point arc  to wrestle back the lead.  This didn't deter the play of the Spartans and they stayed in the battle. However, three huge phantom calls by the officials with under two minutes to play (two offensive fouls and one traveling violation) destroyed any chance Savio had of wining the contest. The final score was 55-52 and a Cathedral win.

Game Notes...
The Savio supporters were out in force, students, teachers, alumni, fans and parents came to the Garden to rally the Spartans... Brian Neidzweicki was a force in the middle snaring numerous rebounds and getting tough points in the paint.... the Cathedral team adapted in the second half to double team Isaac Jenkins and Justin McNeil every time they touched the ball... consequently, the team passed the ball around to the open man and received some clutch shooting from Mike McCarthy, Jason Ruggiero, Denis Buckley and Neidzweicki... the coach called the team out at one point the second half urging them to get tough and they responded, which kept them in the game until the end.. didn't we all believe that they would make the three pointer to tie the game with time running out... coach Frank Shea and his staff had the team ready for this game, time missed free throws and Cathedral bombs played a big part in the outcome... game was one more example to every one that if they follow the lead of the players and student, and fight to the end, Savio can be saved. Good luck to all the seniors on the endeavors next year. Congratulations to the team.  
 

Spartans Defeat Ipswich Earn Trip To Boston Garden
(Herald) (Globe)
The spectacular journey that Coach Frank Shea and his team have been traveling on has  reservations for the final stop.  The Savio Prep Spartans continue their quest for the pot of gold somewhere over the rainbow and that place is not Oz, it's - the Boston Garden. They sealed their date with destiny with a hard fought come from behind win over the top seed Ipswich High school Tigers by a score of 57-52 before a packed house at Salem State College. This unbelievable ending appeared nearly impossible early in the season when the Spartans were barely over 500 in their first seven games. But, Coach Shea and his staff got the team to believe in themselves and from then on, the Spartans started pilling up win after win until the magic night at Austin Prep when Justin McNeil tipped in that basket at the buzzer to cap off the upset win over the previously unbeaten Cougars. At that point the Spartans had arrived. And, now 10 games later, with a share of the CCL title under their belt, the Spartans are on their way to the Boston Garden with a chance to claim their place in Spartan history.

The Spartans came out cold against Ipswich hitting only 1 of their first 5 shots, a nice basket by Dennis Buckley that gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead. Buckley added another score but that plus a Justin McNeil basket and free throw was all the Spartans could muster in the first 7 minutes. So with 9 minutes left in the half and Savio trailing by 9 points 16-7, Coach Shea called a time out to calm the team down. It worked. Jason Ruggiero quarterbacked the offense with confidence getting the ball to the open man. Buckley and Dennis Neidzweicki  played strong on the defensive glass, By the three minute mark, the Spartans had clawed back to tie the score at 18. The team began their move to shut down the Tigers scorers with a swarming defense and quick hands lead by Mike Ferro. Ipswich managed squeak into the locker room at half time with by slim 26-23 lead. The low score would seem indicative of the Tiger style of basketball, but in reality, the Spartans low total was due more to their cold shooting from the floor and from the line. Coach Shea's message in the locker room was simple. "if you want to be the best you have to beat the best," Coach Shea explained. "And right now Ipswich is playing like their the champs. So let's get out there and beat them." 

The Spartans came out in the second half with that look in their eyes. And, when Jenkins who was cold for most of the first, hit two quick baskets and McNeil added a three, the Spartans jumped to a quick lead. Ipswich came back to tie and eventually regain the lead. That's how it went for most of the second half. The teams traded baskets, fouls and turn overs and the game stayed close.  That is until Mike McCarthy and Justin McNeil  hit downtown threes to put the Spartans in the driver's seat.  The team was able to maintain a two to three point lead until a little over three minutes left in the game. Then, Jenkins and McNeil (Bread & Butter) heated up and the Tigers didn't have an answer. The high flying duo combined for 43 of the 57 Spartan points and with 1:14 remaining , the Spartan opened up an 8 point lead. But, Ipswich wouldn't die. They fouled the Spartans who missed some free throws and the Tigers hit two long range threes to cut into the lead. However, Mike McCarthy snuck down the court for an easy lay up with 14 second left to open the lead to 5 points and when  Justin McNeil buried two free throws with a second left, the huge Spartan crowd started the Nah, Nah Good bye chant as the place erupted when the horn sounded. It was a great win for the Spartans. The team reveled on the court for quite a while after every one was gone. Then Coach Shea's group continued their celebration in the locker room where they surprised the coach with bucket of cold water. Their's was a magical run that continues Tuesday at the Garden. Good Luck Spartans. But,  we think you won't need it.

Game Notes...
The entire Savio family would like to say "benvenuto and grazie" to Isaac Jenkins' mother... This was as exciting a game as you are going to see in high school basketball.... It was a match up of styles, Ipswich likes a controlled slow paced low scooting game that relies on accurate shooters against Savio's upbeat helter-skelter, bombs away approach to high scoring affairs, in the end it was Savio's swarming defense that won the game... Every player had a great defensive game... Michael Ferro got the team rolling when he was inserted late in the first half,  his quickness disrupted the Tiger's flow... Dennis Buckley (4 Pts) had a big impact on the outcome of the game with his early buckets and strong presence in the middle... Dennis Neidzweicki came in and got his usual big defensive rebounds when the Spartans made their move while 9 points down... with the team a little cold in the fist half, Butter (Justin McNeil)  picked up the pace and finished with a team high 28 points, including two free throws with one second left to ice the win... Bread (Isaac Jenkins) added 16 but none more important than the two quick baskets he scored to open the second half, that definitely gave the Spartans the spark they were looking for... Mike McCarthy (8 pts) hit an important three pointer from downtown Salem to open the lead in the second half... while Bread and Butter carry the team offensively, Jason Ruggerio (2 pts) is the quarterback of this team, he managed the game perfectly from the point for the Spartans... The Spartan fans were dwarfed by the hordes of Ipswich supporters but that didn't stop the Savio student body from out-cheering their counter parts... most notable were the MVP chant in the closing moments when Jenkins stole the ball and of course the nah, nah nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye chorus at the end of the game... notable quotes - Coach Shea telling the players at half time, "need to beat the best to be the best." - Jenkins after the game telling WN after his cold start, "it gets you upset but just got to fight through and get the win, that's all that matters." - McNeil commenting on his late game three pointer he told WN, "I wasn't nervous, I wasn't paying attention to the crowd, just focused on the basket and hit it."