RallyNorth.net

Cambridge wallops shorthanded Central in quarters

CAMBRIDGE — One elbow, Wednesday night in the tourney-opening win over Charlestown, sent Central Catholic staggering.

The second, early in the third quarter of last night's Division 1 North quarterfinal, finished the Raiders for good.

Playing without top scorer Tanahj Pettway and losing No. 2 man Kevin Fernandez last night, Central hardly stood a chance and fell to No. 1 Cambridge, 76-45, before a sold-out house.

"No Tanahj, losing Kevin for pretty much the whole second half, it was pretty tough," said Raider coach Rick Nault. "To be honest, the way we played tonight, even with those guys, it might not have made much of a difference."

The freshman Pettway was victimized by a vicious shot early in the fourth against the Townies, going right down and was not able to get back. Fernandez, again playing tough, on-the-ball defense, got flattened in an eerily similar fashion, from a swinging elbow. Together they represent 27 points a night. And it was only a 12-point game when Fernandez left. The Raiders just couldn't find anyone else to score and the Falcons' lead quickly expanded, almost exponentially.

"Losing your two leading scorers, you lose a lot of confidence as a team," said Nault. "We got off to the start we wanted (up 8-2). But we just couldn't rebound. We didn't rebound and ultimately that was the difference."

The loss ends Central's year at 14-10. It was a tumultuous one that saw a handful of regulars miss time with a suspension from an offseason issue. The Raiders overcame a 3-7 start to not only qualify for the tourney. They actually had a shot at the league title in the final week, but lost to Andover.

"We needed to shoot the ball really well tonight. We had to make our threes, and we had to get something off out traps," said Nault. "Neither happened. We've had a lot of ups and downs this year. Being 3-7 back then, I'm proud of my guys getting to this point from where they were."

Cambridge now sets its sights on Andover, which will have to deal with Southern Connecticut-bound Falcon Isaiah McLeod, who had 20 last night, despite foul trouble. That Division 1 North semifinal will be Wednesday, 7 p.m., at North Andover.