LYNN — Corey Bingham won two state titles as a player at Lynn Tech but no win since then might be as big as the one his Tigers turned in on Tuesday night in the final game of the 20th Spartan Classic.

In front of a raucous crowd at the Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium, sophomore Gio Jean scored 25 of his game-high 29 points in the first half before junior Travis Sanchez added 14 second half points as the Tigers upset unbeaten St. Mary’s, 68-64, in boys basketball action.

“The guys just played their tails off,” Bingham said. “We played aggressive, uptempo Lynn Tech basketball. It’s a huge win for these guys.”

The Tigers (11-8) led for almost all 40 minutes but found themselves in a dogfight over the final minutes. After trailing by 15 in the third quarter, St. Mary’s (21-1) fought back to within five after three and to within one on back to back JJ Martinez buckets in the fourth.

But the Tigers didn’t relent under the pressure as they pushed the lead back to seven twice before the Spartans made a final push.

Martinez’s three-point post along with four free throws cut the deficit to 65-62 in the final minute but Sanchez stepped to the line and drilled three of four freebies in the final 30 seconds to insure the Tigers’ stunning win.

“Gio is one of the best guards in the state for a reason and Travis was a big help in the second half,” Bingham said.

Malden Catholic struggled for a half with a pesky Georgetown squad, leading only 30-21 at the break. But a 23-1 run to begin the third period dispelled any upset hopes as MC steamed to an 80-38 win.

Sophomore Mamadou Camara had 23 points en route to being named tournament MVP. Junior Matt Gaffney added 19 and Carducci Cherry had 10 for the Lancers, who will be the top seed in Division 2.

“This is a young group and to win 19 games is great,” MC coach John Walsh said.

The other fantastic finish of the day came between Lynnfield and Lincoln-Sudbury. After trailing most of the second half, the Warriors found a way to overcome a four point deficit late thanks to the shooting of Nolan Martindale.

His three-pointer made it a 58-57 game before Lynnfield’s Alex Fleming missed two free throw. The Warriors called timeout and looked for a winning shot. Martindale got the ball at the right elbow and drilled the game winner in traffic at the buzzer.

Paul Conway had 18 for L-S while Fleming had 15 for the Pioneers.