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Pinkerton, Central take different routes to semifinals

LAWRENCE — If last night’s quarterfinals were any indication, then Wednesday’s second Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament semifinal between Pinkerton and Central Catholic will be an extreme contrast of styles.
The 7:45 semi showdown was set up when Pinkerton eked out a 43-40 victory over Andover while Central Catholic romped to a 76-35 win over Methuen.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” Central coach Rick Nault said. “We play against a tough Pinkerton team that plays physical. We have our challenge in front of us. They’re a half-court team and wants to slow down the pace, and we definitely want to speed the tempo up. Hopefully, we can dictate the tempo early on (Wednesday). If not, we’re going to play right into their hands.”

In yesterday’s third quarterfinal, Pinkerton did the dictating most of the game, leading by as many as 10 in the first half. But the Astros (2-0) still found themselves trailing by a point with 2 minutes to go.

Senior guards Kevin Colbert and Sean Smith, however, handled the flow on both ends of the court down the stretch. Colbert connected on an ugly 18-foot bank shot from the top of the key to give Pinkerton the lead before scoring a fastbreak layup off a steal by Chris Light with 1:42 left.

After he committed a pair of turnovers while Andover cut its deficit to one on a cutting layup by Sam Dowden, Colbert made a steal with 18.5 seconds left and Smith, who scored a game-high 15 points, made a pair of free throws to secure the victory with 6.3 seconds remaining.

“This was my first game back,” Colbert said. “I’ve been out for a couple weeks (with a sprained ankle). We were trying to spread it and hold the ball, but they were trapping out there. I made a mistake and I lost it, but I made up for it.”

Smith was joined in double figures by Alex Patrikis, who scored eight of his 12 points in the opening quarter, and Colbert, who had 10. Dowden led Andover with 13 points while Chris Dunn and James Costello each added eight.

“This actually means a lot,” Colbert said. “We’re from New Hampshire and most of (Massachusetts) looks at us as a joke. So this is huge for us. I know Central is good, but we’re looking to beat them too. This is a big deal down here.”

CENTRAL’S SPEED KILLS

If Colbert and his Astro teammates are to actually pull off that upset, they must be ready to run because Central showed off its speed last night.

The Raiders (3-0) jumped out to a 13-0 advantage while Methuen was missing its first five shots and committing 10 turnovers on 15 first-quarter possessions. The turnovers were a direct results of Central’s quickness.

“We’re very different from last year,” said Central coach Rick Nault, in his sixth season at the school. “I think this is probably the smallest team we’ve had. But I think it’s the most aggressive defensively, and it’s definitely a quick group we have here.”

By the time it was over, the Raiders had taken 70 shots — twice as many as the Rangers — and converted 31 of them — 17 more than Methuen. Central forced 30 turnovers. Thirteen of the 15 Raiders who saw action scored at least one point and 12 of them had at least one field goal.

“In our first two games (Merrimack Valley Conference victories over Chelmsford and Lowell) we didn’t really play our best basketball,” Nault said. “I know it’s early in the year, but I’m proud of the way we played tonight and make a statement like that.”

Jake Driscoll, the 11th player of Central’s bench, paced the Raiders with 11 points. Kyle Mansour scored a team-high 10 for Methuen.