Wednesday, February 18, 1998


The St. Bernard's boys' basketball team surprised with full-court, man-to-man pressure, bolted to a 49-38 halftime bulge, and then took care of the basketball in the second half, hitting its foul shots down the stretch, to knock off cross-town rival Fitchburg, 78-71, at St. Bernard's gym last night.
         The victory was likely the biggest of the season for 11-8 St. Bernard's, which got 27 points (5 treys) from Josh Ferreiras, 20 rebounds and 11 points from Kevin L'Ecuyer, and 19 rebounds and 22 points from Jeff Perry.
         Keith Leavitt had a game-high 30 points for Fitchburg, which crept within 3 points late in the game in slipping to 17-2. The Red Raiders' only other loss was to Milford, which they avenged last week.
         
         Hopkins took control early, leading 42-30 at the half behind Steve and Mike Zieja, who combined to finish with 57 points. Ben Early tossed in 15 for the Red Raiders (8-12) and John Krumdick added 13 in the loss.