WESTFORD — A year after two tough losses, the struggles remained the same for Haverhill against Lowell.
On Tuesday night, the two Merrimack Valley Conference teams met in the championship game of the 49th annual 3E Moving and Storage/Greater Lowell Holiday Tournament, and once again the Red Raiders pulled through in a nip-and-tuck game, winning 75-69.
“We just need to find a way to win a big game like this,” said a frustrated Sean Bryan, the head coach of the Hillies. “(Lowell) is a really good program and they have been good for so many years. We just need to find a way to win one of those games and when we do, the wins will come more often. We have a talented group and I think we can play with just about anybody. We just need that one crack of a win and that will start turning things around. We need to learn to win, and learn to compete every day.”
This marked the second straight year — and 18th overall — that Lowell has won the title.
The Hillies (4-3) started the game out a little sluggish, but after a time out responded with a 7-0 run behind a layup from Jonzel Contreras, a three-pointer from Jathian DeJesus and a strong drive by Alejandro Iraheta and tied it 16-16 after a quarter.
Haverhill started the second quarter on a 10-2 run, as Contreras took over with two baskets off defensive steals from Iraheta and Joshua Harrington, as well as a trey. That forced Lowell to call a timeout, trailing 26-18 with 5:07 to go in the half.
Two minutes later, Haverhill led by seven, only to see Lowell go on a 9-2 run to tie it 31-31 at halftime.
“I just don’t think from the start that we played our brand of basketball,” said Bryan. “We did in spurts in the second half, but in the first half we played more towards their style and it worked out better for them, than us.”
The second half was back and forth. Haverhill’s offense got a late surge midway through the fourth quarter behind a pair of baskets from Iraheta which helped the Hillies retake the lead by one point with 2:59 to go.
That’s when Lowell’s Aiden Walter, the tournament MVP, buried a pair of jumpers to put the game away.
Haverhill was led by Iraheta with 24 points, followed by Contreras with 22 and Nathan Harrington with 14.
“Alejandro was really good all tournament,” said Bryan. “He’s been great for us and has been our senior leader. He has become a better person and has grown a lot as a person. Both Harrington brothers (Nathan and Joshua) played really well tonight.”
“Contreras also played very well. I’m very tough on him, but there’s a lot of growing pains with him. He’s a sophomore point guard in the MVC and that’s not always the easiest thing. We’re just trying to get him to realize how good he actually is,” added Bryan.
Iraheta was named to the All-Tournament team.
Lowell 75, Haverhill 69
Lowell: Brendon Djoutba 5-2-12, Julius Richardson 7-1-15, Aiden Walter 7-2-16, Rudhy Frica 5-1-11, Joery Carrion Martinez 2-2-7, Brian Donovan 1-2-5, Elvis Koko 2-0-6, Ydiel Delgado Frias 1-0-3. Totals: 30-10-75.
Haverhill: Nathan Harrington 5-4-14, Jonzel Contreras 9-3-22, Jathan DeJesus 1-0-3, Alejandro Iraheta 10-2-24, Joshua Harrington 2-0-5. Totals: 27-9-69.