RallyNorth.net

LAWRENCE — Rebounding from its first regular-season conference defeat in more than four years, Central Catholic appeared to be easily on its way to righting that loss last night against Lawrence.
But the Lancers came off the mat and made the Raiders work for their third win of the season in the rivalry.
Leading by 13 with less than five minutes remaining, visiting Central Catholic held off the furious rally for a 57-53 victory in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
“We really got after it in practice trying to get our mind off that loss,” Central guard Tyler Nelson said of Friday’s 62-56 decision to Lowell, which cost the Raiders their No. 1 ranking in the EMass. and statewide polls. “We wanted to come out here and make a statement, get a win and get back on another winning streak.”
And after breaking open a halftime tie, it seemed the Raiders, who had won 53 straight regular-season MVC games, would do just that.
Like it did while winning the first two games between the two by a total of 12 points, Central’s move to a zone midway through the third quarter sparked the rally. The Raiders forced turnovers on six of nine Lawrence possessions and blocked a couple shots to turn a one-point lead into a 40-30 advantage with 2:20 left in the quarter.
“I think with certain lineups we defend a little better with a zone,” Central coach Rick Nault said. “And we had foul situations where we had to sit guys so that’s why we went to the zone.”
The Raiders (16-1 overall, 11-1 MVC) scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 47-34 advantage with 4:55 left. But Lawrence refused to roll over. The Lancers made things tight with a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to three with 10.8 seconds left.
“I think we just made too many silly fouls in the end,” said Nelson, who led a balanced Central scoring effort with 14 points. “(The Lancers) got a few lucky and ones, and made a few big shots at the end like they needed to. They didn’t give up.”
Luis Torres sparked the Lancers by scoring seven straight points then delivering an assist on bucket by Leonny Burgos. Lawrence (11-4, 9-2 MVC) closed to within three again on a pair of free throws by Yadoris Arias with 5.9 seconds left, but a free throw by Henry Rodriguez secured the win.
“A lot of it was them,” Lawrence coach Paul Neal said of the Raiders. “But we’ve got to learn from it. It starts in practice. I don’t think we lost that game tonight. I think we lost it in the days leading up to it. ... If you start feeling good about (playing them tough) and being close, then you’re never going to get better. It’s got to hurt. It’s got to be painful.”

Dylan Epstien finished the 50-yard dask i a time of 5.8, takig first place and helping Andover to a fourth place finish (51 points) at yesterday's MVC freshman/sophomore meet.  

BEVERLY — On a day when most results went as predicted, Central Catholic’s Ben Tavitian pulled off the biggest upset.

Seeded third entering the Division 2 North Sectional, the Raider senior was last night’s only winner not seeded either first or second. While he might not have been considered a premeet favorite, Tavitian breezed into the finals, needing fewer than 3 minutes to record a pair of pins and earn a spot in the title match where he posted his third fall of the day in 2:34 over top-seeded Peter Salem of Dracut.

Freshman Christian Thompson's first career goal could not have come at a better time as his second period tally proved to be the game-winner in Central Catholic's 3-2 win over Waltham. Lloyd Hayes and Mike Kelleher also scored for the Raiders.

Methuen finished up an 8-2 season with a sweep of Central Catholic and Dracut. Methuen's Samantha McGovern and Victoria Daigle tied for the all-ariound title with 34.7 totals. Central, which beat Billerica, was led by Maddie Arndt (season best 9.1 on beam) and Giana Contrada and Jamie Maffeo excelled in the all-around.

Central girls basketball outscored Lowell 16-0 to win 53-32 over Lowell.

Amanda Williams sat most of the first half with two fouls. She was huge in the second half and scored 17 points for the game.

Unbeaten Central Catholic, which is ranked first in all the EMass. and statewide polls, trailed by 12 at the half and never could catch up in a 62-56 shocker to Lowell. Central had won 22 straighht games vs. MVC teams dating back to a loss to Andover in the 2010 Greater Lawrence Christmas Tourney. The Raiders had won 53 straight MVC regular-season games since losing to Lowell on Jan. 16 2008.

Sophomore Lloyd Hayes was sent in on a breakaway by Zack Cote and deposited a backhander past the Tewksbury goalie midway through the third period to earn Central Catholic a 3-2 victory. Mike Kelleher, a Tewksbury resident, played a strong game with an assist for Central.

Methuen's wrestling team (17-0) wrapped up the Merrimack Valley Conference title and its first unbeaten dual-meet season in at least 25 years with a 42-21 victory over Central Catholic. Heavyweight Anthony Giorgio, who got hurt in the first meet of the season, returned for a 5-4 decisionwhile Christian Monserrat remained unbeaten with a first-period pin at 113. C.J. Doherty and Scott DelRossi also had first-period falls.  

Driven by great team defense down the stretch sparked by Alex Nagri, Central Catholic survived a tough offensive night to beat Cambridge in overtime, 47-45. Nagri scored all nine of her points in the second half with a huge bucket and free throw in OT. Freshman point guard Giulia Orlando ran the Raider offense effectively in the win.