There was a good lesson to be learned for PSA Prep opponents this past week, and quite simply it was this: Don’t talk trash to Barry Evans.
Evans, the Mustangs’ wildly versatile 6-foot-8-inch wing who is headed to St. Bonaventure next year, became just the second player in PSA history to record a triple-double. And it all started with a comment from the Springfield Commonwealth Academy sideline.
“One of their coaches was saying I won’t play at St Bonaventure, that I’m going to sit the bench,” Evans said. “When people talk trash, that just makes me a different person.”
Evans finished with 17 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists to join Rundell Mauge in the exclusive club as the second-ranked Mustangs knocked off the Tornadoes 102-86 on Dec. 1 in a game that was much closer than the final score.
Evans dominated second-half play with 11 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. No. 2 PSA needed every bit of it to hold off No. 15 SCA, which led early in the second half and stayed within one or two possessions throughout most of the final 20 minutes.
“We have no excuses,” coach Tom Espinosa said after the game. “I’m not happy with our performance as a team and a lot of individuals. We need to put it together a little more.
“But it is what it is, and I give our guys some credit because we finished strong. That’s the bottom line. This is high-level and every team we play is going to have college basketball players. If you don’t show up, you lose. Everyone is coming after us and we’re going to get everyone’s best game. So we need to be ready for that every time.”
DayDay Gittens had 12 points, blocked four shots, and drew four charges for PSA, which also got 26 points, seven rebounds, and six steals from Arturo Dean. Miles Rose played his best game to date as a member of the Mustangs, finishing with 12 points. Desmond Claude added 11 points and four rebounds, while Mouhamed Dioubate chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Mustangs came out a little sluggish again two nights later but improved to 11-0 nonetheless with a 92-76 win over Bradford Christian Academy at the Zero Gravity Prep Classic in Stoughton, Mass.
Dean had 20 points and five assists, Dioubate posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Evans finished with 17 points and eight boards.
Gittens added a season-high 16 points, and Claude chipped in with 13 points and five rebounds for the Mustangs.
“We didn’t play with a lot of energy again in the first half,” said Espinosa. “But the second half was a different story, we really played much better.”
Things were much better Dec. 5 however. PSA held No. 13 South Kent to just 11 points over the first 15-plus minutes of the game and won going away 100-70. Claude had a season-high 24 points, Dioubate had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Momo Cissé had nine points, seven rebounds, and six blocks. Dean finished with 14 points, while Evans added 13, and Sotirios Nafpliotis chipped in 11.
PSA’s boys’ Varsity team lost back-to-back games last week, their first losses of the season. The Mustangs fell 63-54 to a very good Hamden Hall team on Nov. 29, despite getting 20 points from Tomeu Pieras.
“As a whole group came out of the gates flat,” said coach Nick Schmidt. “We played much harder in the second half, but were unable to completely dig ourselves out of the hole we created in the first half.”
Taylan Cengiz finished with seven points, Pau Amengual six, and Michael Phav, Joey Pezzano, and Ethan Senkyire five apiece for PSA.
It was another tough loss Dec. 2, this time 63-59 on the road to St. Thomas More. Pieras again led the way, this time with 15 points, Senkyire added 14 points and Amengual finished with 11 for the Mustangs (2-2), who led by 10 at the half.
“The focus was the first four minutes, and were we going to extend the lead to 15 or were they going to cut it to five,” Schmidt said. “The problem was, they cut it to five and then it was a dog fight from there.
“We hurt ourselves more than anything, which is a good sign. They didn’t beat us, I think we beat ourselves. We still have two games before break and some practices to improve on what we’ve been struggling with the last two games, and then end the semester on a high note.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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