By Jason Claffey, Globe Correspondent | January 22, 2007

Defensively, Brockton threw everything at No. 4 East Boston in yesterday's Big Three vs. Boston City League Challenge at UMass-Boston. Full-court presses. Half-court traps. Zones. Double teams. Man-to-man. Eastie responded to the Boxers' pressure schemes steadfastly, like a matador. They threw under-control baseball passes to beat the press and swift cross-court passes to defeat the traps and double teams. They bulled over the zone defense in the paint and beat defenders off the dribble against man-to-man.

They used Brockton's aggressiveness against them, allowing the Boxers to run through the red cape in a 90-68 East Boston victory. Eastie improved to 10-1, Brockton dropped to 7-2. "I invite teams to do that," said coach Malcolm Smith of the pressure defense. He said he's confident of the decision-making of guards Tyrone Hughes (10 points) and Jeff Cannon (8), who kept the offensive pace under control and rarely committed turnovers. The sure shooting of Richie Penha (10 points) and Tyrone Figuero (11 points) made Brockton pay for double-teaming the ball and packing in zone defenses. Six-foot-three-inch Elezar Clayton owned the paint, banging against Brockton's Jeff McNair (three blocks) and Louis Montes en route to a team-high 19 points. "He's very good in the middle . . . [with] a great basketball mind," Smith said.

Junior Kyle Gerry (18 points) kept Brockton in the game, pouring in floaters, putbacks, and 3-pointers to hold East Boston to a 37-35 halftime lead.

Unhappy with his team's rebounding performance in the first half, Smith had his players practice boxing out in the locker room.

"It was small in there, but it was time to get physical," he said. Smith especially challenged Clayton (10 rebounds), who responded by effectively making McNair and Montes non-factors on the glass in the second half.

In the first game, Boston English defeated New Bedford, 66-54. Darryl Simpson (20 points) and Danquah Rawlins (25 points) complemented each other nicely for the nicknames. The duo took turns working the paint and scored the majority of their points on the blocks. When the defense collapsed, they kicked it out to each other for open mid-range jumpers. "They play a nice inside-out game," said English coach Barry Robinson, whose team is 4-7. After New Bedford took a 31-28 advantage at halftime, both teams ran a full-court press in the second half. The game became a layup drill, with the difference being that English hit most of its layups while New Bedford missed its.