LAWRENCE — With its again up towards the wall, Central Catholic‘s protection was pretty much as good as ever.
Joey Hart got here by with a clutch three-point play and the Raiders held BC High and not using a area purpose over the ultimate seven minutes as No. 14 Central Catholic knocked off the No. 13 Eagles, 51-46, in time beyond regulation on Wednesday evening.
Central Catholic advances to the Division 1 quarterfinals to play No. 5 Needham on Saturday.
“We’re so battle tested with the schedule we play that our guys just don’t get rattled,” Central Catholic coach Mark Dunham stated. “Our guys are confident and they are when they have to be.”
BC High led 44-40 with simply over two minutes left in regulation and the ball, however two turnovers and a pair of layups from Marcus Rivera tied the sport at 44.
Central Catholic had 4 probabilities to win the sport on the finish of regulation, however every three-pointer hit the rim, sending the sport to time beyond regulation. The Eagles grabbed a one level edge, 46-45, halfway by the additional session on two free throws from Ivan Yhomby however Hart answered with a three-point play on the different finish to place Central on prime 48-46.
Defensively, in the meantime, the Raiders compelled the Eagles into late shot clock conditions and off stability makes an attempt. From the three minute mark of the fourth quarter by the ultimate buzzer, Central held BC High and not using a area purpose.
“We’ve just been in these spots a ton these last few weeks,” Dunham stated. “BC High is a terrific defensive team and (head coach) Bill Loughnane does an outstanding job. Thankfully for us though we made the last few plays and had a great crowd behind us.”
The first half proved to be a rock combat with either side failing to achieve offensive traction. A Nick Sangermano three-pointer gave Central a 24-21 lead on the half.
BC High grabbed a one-point edge heading into the fourth, and Quinn Costello canned a pair of triples to assist stretch the result in 40-35 with 4:40 to play. Sangermano, nonetheless, got here by with a pair of clutch steals, together with one with a minute to play that arrange Rivera’s recreation tying layup with a minute to go.
Central Catholic turned BC High over 29 occasions.
Source: www.bostonherald.com