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Central romps to state title

Sunday, March, 16 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

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WORCESTER, Mass. | The were no cheapies along the way here, Charlestown (ranked No. 1 in Eastern Mass.), No. 2 Lowell, No. 3 BC High, to name three truly high-powered victims.

All three wins paid huge dividends last night when things got a little bit antsy for Central Catholic in the Division 1 state championship.

A 14-point early lead was wiped away by scrappy St. John's of Shrewsbury. It was 32-32, anyone's title hanging in the balance just two minutes into the second half.

As they've done so often in the six-game tourney run, however, the Raiders relied on what they do best, amping up the defense and finding the go-to man | in this case senior Adrian Gonzalez.

St. John's didn't stand a chance, absorbing the brunt of a Gonzalez-led 36-15 barrage as the Raiders, 25-2, grabbed their first state championship since 1999, 68-47, before a crowd of nearly 6,000 at the DCU Center.

"It all started with our defense," said Central coach Rick Nault, who is now 44-8 in two seasons as head coach. "We needed to pick it up. We were a little sluggish out there."

Gonzalez, the Bentley-bound senior, ended his historic career with a prime-time performance. Scoring 16 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, he added 12 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals and a pair of blocks in an unforgettable evening.

"It's a comfortable feeling knowing these seniors are going to take it upon themselves to make some plays, and they did," added Nault. "He was a man tonight. Tonight meant a lot to him, being his last game at Central, and he was relentless, on the boards, scoring. ... He took it upon himself to carry the team."

This was no easy task, considering the size up front of St. John's with the LaBove brothers at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9, respectively.

"And we put our best player on him," admitted Pioneers coach Bob Foley.

Nothing and no one was going to stop Gonzalez last night, though.

"I came in a little nervous, but coach just told me to create and attack," said Gonzalez, who hit 11 of 15 shots with only one miss in the second half. "We came together and just had to play harder. We kept our composure and just took it to them."

Gonzalez displayed his ballhandling skills, mid-range jumper, rebounding and creativity in the open floor.

He broke the 32-32 tie with an eight-footer. And his look-away layin, plus the foul, in the final minute of the third sent the Central student section into a rage.

Gonzalez closed out the third with a foul-line jumper as the Raiders sensed the kill at 45-37.

"He made all the big shots for them," admired Foley.

When Gonzalez' whirling onslaught finally subsided, the Raiders went to Wilfredo Pagan for the save.

The point guard, who controlled the pace all night long, stirred up the sideline celebration with a clean steal and layin making it 54-39. Then he nailed 6 of 8 free throws to keep the Pioneers at arm's length.

In all, Pagan finished with a season-high 21 points.

Sophomore Carson Desrosiers and junior Billy Marsden, who represent over 30 points a game for the Raiders, were shackled by foul trouble all night long, each fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

They combined for only seven points.

But it didn't matter on this night.

"We're a veteran group," said Pagan. "We've been down a lot this season. We know we're going to be there at the end."

Additional stories:

• Pagan, seniors go out in style
• Same time, next year?
• Perfect ending for a (nearly) perfect team