Jalen Echevarria made sure one of the premiere matchups in the Catholic Central League carried little drama.
Echevarria knocked down four three-pointers as part of a 25-point performance to lead St. Mary’s past Cathedral, 70-51, in a Catholic Central League showdown on Monday night at Cathedral High School.
“It was good we were able to get out early and get some easy baskets,” St. Mary’s head coach David Brown said. “Jalen (Echevarria) was able to get some easy layups and hit a couple free throws early and that made him more comfortable in the three point shot which was good.”
St. Mary’s (5-0, 3-0) led 41-29 to start the third quarter, but quickly pulled away. The Spartans forced two straight turnovers that led to layups, and then off a pin block by forward Jack Abate-Walsh, Echevarria finished at the other end to give St. Mary’s a 50-31 lead.
Cathedral got as close as 11 as Khalil Blair and Anthony Berry combined for an 8-0 run, but Echevarria and Nate Duncan hit two treys to put the Spartans up 63-46 midway through the fourth.
The Spartans used their full court pressure to jump out to a 14-4 run to begin the game.
Echevarria scored 16 of his 25 points in the opening quarter, including a three pointer from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded to give the Spartans a 24-14 lead after one.
Blair tried to keep Cathedral within striking distance as he converted an old-fashioned three point play before Malik Brooks finished consecutive fast break layups to pull the Panthers within eight.
The Panthers, however, were unable to contain Abate-Walsh as he scored 11 points in the frame to lead St. Mary’s to a 41-29 advantage at the break.
