RallyNorth.net: High School Sports – Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

ZWow, a gritty win by Central Catholic last night, edging Lawrence, 57-53.
Give Central credit for taking charge, playing at its own pace and not the Lancers frenetic, crazed uptempo.
Huge night for Nick Cambio. In the key second-half sequence which saw a tie game grow to a 40-30 lead, Cambio had a tough finish at the rim, a 3-pointer, a blocked shot that led to a layup on the other end and a win of a loose ball on the floor. All the energy was just too much for the Lancers to overcome.
That was as good as he’s played all year.
Good balance again by the Raiders, but with Puello still struggling with Puello stilll struggling with the ankle injury, Central is again anything but fluid on offense.
Even their “dump and chase” stuff wasn’t working last night. Yes, they made some shots, but Lawrence’s defense made stuff very tough for the Raiders.
Central’s second-half defense, zone or man, was dynamite, hands in passing lanes, deflections, step ins, those little touches and bumps that threw the lancers just off their game.

Is there anything, within reason, you all would like to ask a Patriot or Giant?
I’m here in Indy, and we have three days of pretty cool media access to everybody. I’m wondering if there’s anything you guys wanted to know.
I might not get to it today, but tomorrow and Thursday are great times to ask.
So let me know. And try to keep them clean.

Wow, did anyone see that Andover football is picking up Xaverian in the fall?
I guess EJ means business.

HL

A pretty good one is one tap tonight in North Andover with East Boston in for a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Crozier Fieldhouse.
Great test for the Knights, who have been without Colby Smith on the point the last few games, from what I’ve been told is an ankle injury.
Jimmy Warden is back however for a game that could tell a ton about where North Andover stands outside of the Cape Ann League.
At 8-2, what do we know about Division 1 Eastie.
The Jets have handed Maddy Park its only loss of the young campaign and have also stuck Charlestown, which just picked up its second defeat of the year to renowned hoop power St. Peter-Marian.
Both of Eastie’s losses are credible, to Holy Name of Worcester and Bishop Loughlin of New York.
My man Dan Ventura of the Herald said in the preseason, “East Boston will rely on double-double machine Kenny Ramos in the paint to go along with guards Zach Gattereau and Trevon Moore.”

OK, some late night fodder for your early morning digestion on Central’s 61-51 win over Andover in boys hoop Friday night.
Not sure where I can start on this, so maybe I will try the front door, which greeted me with a sign that read, “Central vs. Andover Basketball”
$8.
As in eight bucks a head.
Yikes, the power of the press feels pretty good when the alternative is an eight-spot. Good thing Ollie sat this one out.
Hmmm. Eight bucks for a regular season hoop game, and I’m told the gym was cleared out after the freshmen game.
Hmmm. How expensive are lawyers anyways?
The place was mobbed, A+ to both crowds, who seemed under control.
Again, I stood in the opposite corner, away from the student sections, to cover the game, since there were no seats for me.
Not complaining either, I got there right at 7:30, tipoff time. No seat was expected. However, for the folks who paid eight beans and stood in a corner with me?
That’s a different question.
All right, now to the floor.
Very interesting tactics, tonight. Obviously, Andover’s David Fazio was watching over at the Christmas tournament. The coach saw:
1. What Tyler Nelson can do to a basketball game when he takes it over.
2. What happens when the Raiders run into a tough zone.
So he went what Raider coach Rick Nault called “about 60 percent box and 1 on Nelson.”
And the tactic worked for one half. For that half, the first, Central played what I like to call “dump and chase” hoop – which was a lot of threes and tough shots and attacking the offensive glass.
Central needed a spark and found 2.
First, there was the incredibly amped up defensive effort in the third quarter. In six minutes, Andover had three “shots,” no points.
Nault said, “We caused turnovers on seven straight trips.”
That got the Raiders running, injecting Joel Berroa into the offense.
And when the Raiders were forced into the halfcourt, it was junior Lucas Hammel wreaking havoc by busting into the lane and breaking the Warriors down. Suddenly, Raiders popped open everywhere, starting with Doug Gemmell who made a handful of big shots in a 22-point monster night.
So much for the box and 1, and every other defense Andover could throw at Central, which remains on its seemingly endless conference roll.
Interesting to see the pieces fitting in for Andover. Four of the five are back with the big freshmen finishing up his details with the miaa and returning next week.
What does this make the Warriors?
If I had to say it looks like a familiar situation with them and Lawrence battling to be a solid No. 2 behind the Raiders.
Andover’s just missing that one element, which is that trusted and reliable point guard.
Fazio has had to use both his stars, Sam Dowden and James Costello, to bring the ball up the floor. Clearly, this takes its toll on these guys and limits their offense.
Great event, great atmosphere, and a pretty solid job by the two guys in stripes. Yeah, the teams shot 50 free throws, but it seemed like the game had flow, and that’s what mattered most.