LAWRENCE – Central Catholic commanded its home floor on Monday night, twice.
The Raiders saw their girls and boys hoop teams deliver top performances, taking care of business in the Division 1 Round of 16 and earning state quarterfinal berths.
Thursday night, the eighth-seeded Central girls head to No. 1 Wachusett Regional in Princeton for a 6 p.m. tip. Wachusett edged the Raiders by a bucket late in the regular season.
Friday night at 6, the Raider boys, seeded fourth, will host the winner of Tuesday’s Lowell/Lincoln-Sudbury Round of 16 battle.
Lilly Phillips paced the Central girls in the first game of the night, a 65-55 win over Franklin. The junior guard had 19 points. All-conference forward Aniela Kwo (17 points) and Kerri Finneran (12) also played strong games. Addison Beers had eight.
Junior Javi Lopez unleashed a marquee performance in the nightcap with 32 points, 11 boards, five assists and four steals as the Central boys cracked St. John’s of Shrewsbury, 73-55.
Freshman Elkin Pena had 15 in the win for Central.
We will have much more on Central’s huge Monday night in Wednesday’s edition of The Eagle-Tribune.