RallyNorth.net

Wed, Dec 28, 2011 06:00 PM @ Neutral Location

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
North Andover	17	17	7	6	47
Lawrence	9	10	11	22	52

Martinez and the Miracle Makers: Lawrence stuns Knights

Wednesday, December, 28 By Michael Muldoon
Staff writer

By Michael Muldoon mmuldoon@eagletribune.com The Eagle Tribune Thu Dec 29, 2011, 02:16 AM EST

LAWRENCE — Over the last 37 years, there have been some heart-stopping comebacks in the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tourney.

But few, if any, quite like this.

Left for dead trailing by 14 with 7:20 to play after a Brendan Miller corner 3-pointer, Lawrence posted an improbable comeback to stun North Andover, 52-47, in a semifinal thriller.

Franklin Martinez had the large and vocal Lancer contingent screaming with delight as he pumped in 11 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.

The 5-11 senior hit two free throws to tie it with 1:24 left, then, after an Isaiah Nelsen free throw put the Knights up 1, he buried a contested, cold-blooded, top of the key 23-footer to put the Lancers ahead 49-47.

North Andover got a late steal but couldn't score the equalizer or a go-ahead 3-pointer as 5-9 freshman guard Luis Torres returned the favor. He poked the ball free and Yadoris Arias hit the streaking Torres for the bucket and foul. He made the free throw with 6.5 seconds remaining to seal the wild comeback.

On the gutsy 3-pointer, Martinez said, "I was nervous. I was scared. But I felt good."

Martinez, who was just 4 of 14 from the floor before the huge trey, was more confident on that shot than he was of pulling out the victory in the fourth.

Did you truly think you could do it?

"No," he admitted. "It was very surprising."

But Martinez, who got his hair dyed Tuesday night by a neighbor, once again proved blondes have more fun.

There is no Jaylen Alicea to rely on this winter. The All-Scholastic is gone, and none of the returnees were anything near proven commodities.

When asked if he was a sixth man or a seventh man last year, Martinez quipped, "I was no man! I didn't see the court."

Obviously, most of the Lancers are buying into coach Paul Neal's team-first philosophy. Martinez, the senior savior, brought a pile of warm-ups to the locker room after the game.

"I'm just helping out," he explained.

Trust us, Franklin, you did enough!

The Knights (2-1) were nearly perfect in the first half. Zach Karalis (13 points on the night) was playing his typical all-around game while 6-5 Mike Moroney and 6-6 Isaiah Nelsen were pounding the glass relentlessly. Gutty point guard Colby Smith, who shook off a couple nasty spills and an inadvertent shot to the groin, was running the show and super soph Brendan Miller (13 points on the night) was flashing his impressive skills.

But in the second half Lawrence kept coming, led by Martinez and 6-4 sophomore Roberto Speing (14 rebounds), and the ball wouldn't fall for the visiting Scarlet and Black.

In the final 3:01, the Knights were 2 of 5 from the line (one was the front end of a 1-and-1) and missed a layup. They were limited to 13 points in the second half and endured a 4:19 scoreless stretch in the fourth.

"It had nothing to do with coaching," Neal said of the 22-3 Lancer advantage in the final 7:10. "It was just a bunch of guys who said, 'We aren't going to lose.' We didn't give them anything easy. We want to wear you down with constant pressure."

Of course it didn't help that the Knights were without two returning starting guards: Derek Collins (back injury), who is one of the top players in the area, and fiery sparkplug Jimmy Warden (school suspension).

"It doesn't do you any good to talk about it or use it as an excuse," said Knights coach Mike McVeigh, who was his typical stoic self after the crushing defeat.

One huge difference was at the free throw stripe where Lawrence was 17 of 25 to just 3 of 9 for North Andover.