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DURHAM, N.H. – With a tad more than a half minute left in Wednesday’s state semifinal, the Salem coaches gathered for a group hug.

PELHAM — Although it went just 9-9 in the regular season, Hollis-Brookline just had Pelham's number. The 15-3 Pythons lost to HB 58-57 in the regular season and 46-45 in the first-round of the Division 2 playoffs when the visitors went on an 8-0 run in the final 40 seconds including Dhruv Miglani's game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

LAWRENCE — Championship teams always rely on their best players to shine when the spotlight is brightest.
And Tuesday night in the Division 1 North semifinals, Central Catholic got huge games from standouts George Smith, Kevin Constant and Jalen Aquino as the No. 3-seed Raiders outlasted No. 2 Lowell, 67-61, in a wild battle between MVC rivals in front of a crowd of 2,500 vocal fans.
Smith led the way with 22 points, which included four free throws in the final 11 seconds, Constant had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks and Aquino had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
The talented trio, who were complemented with a more than solid game from Cam Homsey, who had two 3-pointers and was 4 for 5 from the field while netting 10 points, will now take the Raiders to Saturday’s 7:45 p.m. North finals at the Tsongas Arena against No. 1 seed Lynn English.
“This is huge and probably the biggest win I’ve had because we’re going to the North finals,” said an excited Smith. “We went when I was a freshman but this is bigger because I’m more of a leader.”
Smith not only was lethal on the line but he carried the Raiders in the second quarter. With Central trailing 17-16 after the first quarter, Smith had 12 of the team’s 14 points in the second quarter. That, plus an energetic defense which forced 10 Lowell turnovers in the frame, gave the Raiders a 31-30 halftime lead.
“George Smith just doesn’t want to lose and will do whatever it takes,” said Central coach John Walsh. “You want him to take charge in a game like this.”
In the third quarter, it was Aquino who took charge. Held scoreless in the first half, he nailed two 3-pointers and had 10 points as the Raiders had a superb quarter, hitting 10 of 13 from the floor and outscoring Lowell 23-13 to take a 53-42 lead into the fourth quarter.
Moreover, Aquino held Lowell sharpshooter Carlos Nunez, who had four 3-pointers in the first half for 14 of his team-high 22 points to just one point in the third quarter.
“I felt like I was overplaying him (Nunez) in the beginning,” said Aquino. “I felt (at halftime) that I wasn’t doing everything I’m capable of. I felt like I had to leave everything on the floor in the second half.”
Constant, meanwhile, was a force throughout the game, scoring nine points in the first quarter and contributing on defense all game. Not known as a deep threat, his second 3-pointer of the game, with 2:02 left, gave Central a five-point cushion, 60-55, allowing the Raiders to seal it on the line.
Lowell stayed close throughout the second half thanks to Nunez and the acrobatic drives of Justin Villanueva (13 points) and Rashawn Settles (10), but its shooting tailed off in the second half and its 21 turnovers proved costly.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to these kids,” said Walsh. “Every one of them came to play today and the defense came through when we needed it.
“I didn’t know what to expect from this team at the beginning of the year, but it’s really come on. I thought, after we won at Andover, we started to put things together and that this might be possible.”

NORTH ANDOVER – The Scarlet Knight starting five has built an impressive resume the past couple years having made a state title appearance a year ago. Three of this year’s starters even played pivotal roles in winning a state football title three months ago.

LAWRENCE – With several Raiders ailing from the flu, Central Catholic caught a break when a snow storm that never materialized postponed its quarterfinal showdown with Cambridge Rindge & Latin a day.

Earlier in the season, Hamden Hall crushed Brooks boys basketball 73-48 to hand it its first loss in 68 games. Saturday's rematch in the NEPSAC Class B semifinal went a little different. Brooks led by as much as 17 in the second half, but a key ankle injury to top scorer Tyler Whitney-Sidney helped Hamden Hall complete the 65-62 comeback. Junior Myles Foster had a career-high 25 points from Brooks, which ends its season 18-7.

LYNN — The Lawrence High boys basketball team gave it the old Merrimack Valley Conference try. But it wasn't enough. Not in Lynn. Not against a team built to contend for a state championship. Top-seeded Lynn English High, 19-2, finally broke away from the Lawrence High, outscoring them by 13 points in the fourth quarter en route to the 82-63 win in the Div. 1 North quarterfinals. "I knew they'd be tough," said Lynn English coach Antonio Anderson. "I told our team, they will be around for 32 minutes so be ready to fight. Our key guys Alonzo (Linton) and Jarnel (Guzman) came through for us in the fourth quarter. And some of our other guys did, too. They had to or we could've lost this one." Other than a quick 2-2 tie just 40 seconds into the game, the Bulldogs never trailed. In fact, they jumped out quickly to a 16-8 lead, ready to run. But through three quarters, the Lancers never wavered. Trailing 33-31, they had two chances to go ahead, but both 3-pointers were short. Thanks to a technical foul at the end of the first half — a Lynn English player threw the ball at a Lawrence player — the Lancers made both free throws and closed the gap to 38-37, with the ball. Slowly, though, the 6-foot-6 Linton, who had no physical match on Lawrence, scored five straight points, opening up the lead. He was aided by a pair of driving Guzman lay-ins and two 3-pointers by Joaquin Crespo. Lawrence's Brandon Goris (16 points), Brian Martir (22) and Jaden Castillo (13) all made key shots through the first three quarters to keep it close. But after Lawrence closed it to 60-57 in the fourth quarter after a Jeremiah Melendez 3-pointer and Martir free throw, it missed an open 3-pointer to tie the game. The Bulldogs answered scoring 11 straight points, including a 3-pointer and two three-point-plays, to put the Lancers away. "We just couldn't get over the hump," said Lawrence coach Jesus Moore. "We played them tough for so long. But our immaturity showed, not making the extra pass when a guy is wide open, late on our rotations leaving a guy wide open, and then fouling their 3-point shooter. "We had one guy who played a decent amount of varsity last year, Jaden Castillo," said Moore. "Their veterans made the big plays, they're crafty, slashing to the hoop." Underneath the beads of sweat after the game, Moore, in his first year, was beaming with pride of his 15-7 Lawrence team. "We have bigger goals down the road and this was a great start," said Moore. "I remember seeing these guys at Hoops For Home in Andover and seeing how far they came, without much experience. But we fought all year. We play in the best conference, top to bottom, in the state. We thought we could beat these guys, but tip your cap to them."

NORTH ANDOVER — Pressure, what pressure?

With 15 seconds left in a rough and tumble, back and forth Division 2 North quarterfinal game, with North Andiver clinging to a 71-68 lead in front of a loud and frantic crowd, senior Gabe DeSouza calmly went to the free throw line and sank two free throws to clinch a hard-earned 73-68 victory.

The Pentucket boys basketball team held a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Sachems couldn't hold off a late comeback effort by Weston as the Sachems were upset 49-48 in the Division 3 North quarterfinals. Weston took the lead with about 1:30 to play after a series of Pentucket turnovers, and the Sachems couldn't make the last big play it needed to regain the lead down the stretch. Jake Etter led the Sachems with 14 points and Spencer Pacy had 13 as Pentucket finishes the season 19-3.

Haverhill trailed by three in the wanning seconds before a foul put it on the free throw line. The Hillies sunk the first to make it a two-point game and tried to miss the second intentionally to get a tip-in rebound, but the attempt missed the rim for a violation and No. 4 Boston Latin closed out the 46-44 win. Daejon Pendelton-Mills and D.J. Cunningham each had 10 points for the Hillies, who finish the season 11-11.

The Brooks boys basketball team defeated St. George's 65-43 to advance to the Class B semifinals for the eighth straight year. It will face Hamden Hall in the semifinals Saturday. Hamden Hall snapped Brooks' 68-game win streak back on Dec. 1.