RallyNorth.net

Revenge! Lawrence runs past Prep

Tuesday, February, 28 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

LAWRENCE — Pat Connaughton and Jaylen Alicea have moved on.

That did nothing to stop Lawrence High and St. John's Prep from picking up right where they left of last March in the North title game at the Boston Garden.

This time around, the No, 7 Lancers took the measure of the defending Division 1 state champions, running away from No. 10 St. John's, 80-69, before about 1,200 fans here last night.

Lawrence, now 15-5, awaits a sectional quarterfinal date with the Acton-Boxborough/Methuen winner, most likely on Saturday night.

"This means a lot, especially after they beat us last year," said Lawrence senior Yadoris Arias, who led all scorers with 30 points on the night. "We played relaxed, played defense and just kept attacking them."

Both teams spent most of the night on the gas pedal, and the pace suited Lawrence perfectly.

The Lancers, up 41-37 at the half, rolled off an 11-2 spurt to start the third, never to be headed again.

Were it not for some gritty third quarter by the Prep's Drex Costello and Tyler Dooley  — both junior guards out of North Andover — this one might have gotten out of hand earlier.

The pair combined for 15 of the Prep's 17 points in the third, helping the Eagles close within four on a couple of occasions.

Each time, the Lancers had an answer. Be it with an Arias bomb, a Tre'von Farley stickback, or a Leonny Burgos leaner, Lawrence kept responding.

"That's our team, we just kept fighting," said Farley, who muscled his way to 11 points and 13 boards.

Burgos finished with 14, and the Merrimack Valley Conference MVP, Franklin Martinez, delivered 16 points.

St. John's All-Scholastic Steve Haladyna finished with 23 points, but worked for every single one of them in a physical night in which he banged and probed through a platoon of Lancers.

"We tried to deny every pass to him," said Farley. "That's what coach wanted, and we kept working at it."

North Reading's Mike Carbone added 14 for the Prep, while Dooley finished with 11. 

Lawrence will now play spectator, Thursday night in Acton, as the Cinderella Rangers, seeded 15th overall and fresh off the first-round croaking of Malden, look to slaw the No. 2 Colonials.