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Central Catholic Raiders Boys Basketball '07-'08

Sat, Mar 15, 2008 07:30 PM @ Neutral Location - DCU Center
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Playoff Game Division 1 - State Finals
Central Catholic 12 20 13 23 68
St. John's Shrewsbury 7 18 12 10 47

Perfect ending for a (nearly) perfect team

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Monday, March, 17 By Bill Burt
Staff writer

WORCESTER | St. John's of Shrewsbury coach Bob Foley almost did it about 20 minutes after his team was humbled by Central Catholic, 68-47, at the DCU Center last night.


He almost called Central perfect.


Perfect is a dirty word around here. As our professional football team taught us, a near-perfect record doesn't mean anything.


But Foley, who has been on the St. John's sideline for a quarter-century, marveled at several elements of the bull-dozer his team was run over by last night in the Division 1 state final.


"They have a tremendous and tough point guard, (Wilfredo) Pagan," said Foley. "Then they have a scoring guard, (Billy) Marsden, who is quite a talent. They have a power forward (Tim Wheeler). They have 6-foot-9 center (Carson Desrosiers) who can play. Then there's (Adrian) Gonzalez, who's going to Bentley, who killed us all game. Then they bring in number 11 (Walson Constant) and number 23 (KB Oshodi) off the bench.

"They can shoot. They can drive. And," said Foley, saving the best for last, "they never let up."


Foley had never seen a team like this one, at least this past winter, and frankly, neither have many people who follow high school basketball around the Merrimack Valley.


If Foley was at the Charlestown game, he would've added they are never out of it. If he was at Tsongas Arena last Saturday when Central beat Lowell, he would have added clutch beyond belief. If he was at the Garden on Monday, he would have added they are the toughest team he had seen.


Central also won a state title nine years ago, but this was the best.


"You stop one guy, like we did (last night) with Marsden (season-low 5 points) and it didn't matter," said Foley. "They have too much."


Central had too much everything, particularly energy.


"I remember on Day 1, the first practice, looking at the team and talking to my assistants," said Central coach Ricky Nault. "We had all of the pieces. But that doesn't always mean championships. You have to find a way, as a coach, to get them to play together. And you know what?"


Nault answered that question, but he didn't have to. This was a team.


Pagan (21 points) made three steals under his own hoop and turned them into layups. Gonzalez (28 points) took the game over when Central showed its only signs of cracking.


St. John's tied the score at 32 apiece with 5:46 remaining in the third and everything changed.


But immediately, and I mean immediately, the Bentley-bound Gonzalez drove to the basket for a lay-in and everything was OK again.


Central went on to outscore St. John's 36-15 after the Pioneers tied the score.


"I've never played a team that is in your face like Central was," said St. John's senior guard Brandan Russell. "We finally got used to their pressure and made the run to come back. But then they came right back at us. We just got tired, I guess."


Central finished the season at 25-2, losing to B.C. High and Lowell during the regular season, but the Raiders avenged both losses when everything was one the line in mid-March.


"I don't know about perfect, but I do know that nobody plays harder than we do," said Nault. "When you have the players we have here and they come to play every day, and I mean practice, too, well my job is a lot easier."


Unlike our favorite professional football team, which made history, Central played its best when it counted most.


"This is the greatest team I've ever played on," said Pagan. "It's not one guy. It's never been one guy. It's every guy. And we are the best in the state. Wow."

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