LAWRENCE — With the chance at a massive, state-wide statement, Central Catholic suddenly fell ice cold.
Leading by nine points with 5:15 left in the game, the Raiders were outscored 16-4 the rest of the way, falling to Newton North 57-54 in a battle clash of two of the top 5-ranked teams in Division 1 boys basketball.
Central Catholic (10-2 Division 1) entered Tuesday ranked No. 2 in the MIAA’s latest Division 1 Power Rankings, while Newton North (11-1) was ranked No. 5.
“After climbing to No. 2 in the state, we wanted to rubber stamp that tonight,” said Raiders coach Mark Dunham. “And we didn’t do that. Newton North is one of the blue blood programs in the state. It’s going to be tough to beat teams like this scoring 54 points. It was a great game. These are the kinds of teams we are going to see in the tournament. But we have a lot of work to do.”
Central Catholic had two chances in the game’s final minute. But with 0:03 left, trailing 55-54, a Raider was whistled for a travel, and a final shot as time expired was blocked.
“I thought it (the travel call) was a tough call,” said Dunham. “You never want to see something like that happen. But, at the end of the day, being a referee is difficult. We didn’t lose the game because of the referees. We had plenty of opportunities. We only scored four points over the last five minutes. You have to score the ball to win.”
The Raiders fell despite a massive, 37-point performance by star guard Javi Lopez.
The returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star erupted for 21 points in the first half alone, tallying nine points in the first quarter and 12 of Central’s 14 points in the second quarter, sending the Raiders into the half leading 29-27.
Lopez then added 10 more points in the third quarter, including an acrobatic reverse layup and 3-pointer near the top of the key in the final seconds to make it 40-39 Raiders heading into the final frame. He then opened the fourth with a rebound put-back layup, then stopped a Newton North with another tricky layup under the hoop.
“Javi is really, really good, an puts so much pressure on all five guys on defense,” said Newton North assistant Rob Greenfield, who was filling in for head coach Paul Connolly, who missed the game for undisclosed reason. “It was really a team effort on him late. We had to switch out on him, and a couple guys had to step up against him. We didn’t hold him down, because he’s so good. But we did the best we could in the final minutes.”
Zack Sangermano hit a corner 3-pointer, and Antonio Lopez had a late jumper for Central, but the rally fell short.
“We didn’t play well enough,” said Dunham. “We didn’t have enough energy, and Newton North was ready to play. We’re in a tough stretch right now, and I was disappointment in our effort. We didn’t have that energy tonight.”
Newton North 57, Central Catholic 54
Newton North (57) — Bryson Mercedes 1-4-6, Teagan Swint 5-8-18, Mathaios Stamm 4-4-14, Jake Lyons 3-1-7, Luke Washek 1-1-5, Oliver Wardly 1-1-3, Nicholas Spinelli 1-3-5
Central Catholic (54) — Javi Lopez 14-7-37, Drew O’Keefe 2-1-5, Jordan Marion 1-1-3, Nizeah Castillo 1-0-2, Elkin Pena 1-0-2, Antonio Lopez 1-0-2, Zack Sangermano 1-0-3.
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