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Central gets physical, KOs unbeaten Lowell

Wednesday, January, 30 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

Central Catholic junior Billy Marsden may be known more for his jump shot than his physical play, but you might have a hard time convincing Lowell of that.

The 5-foot-10 Marsden, who played limited minutes in a 61-53 loss to Lowell just 11 days earlier because of an ailing ankle, slashed his way to 14 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, including 10 points in the pivotal fourth quarter, as Central (11-1, 8-1 MVC) knocked Lowell (13-1, 9-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten, 72-66.

"I just take whatever situation is given to me and tonight I had to drive to the basket," said Marsden.

In front of a jam-packed Central Catholic gym, Marsden connected on only two jump shots all evening and instead drove toward the basket with abandon, often getting fouled along the way. As a result, he was 10 of 11 from the free throw line, including 6 for 6 in the fourth quarter when a 12-2 Central spurt to start the period proved decisive.

"We wanted to attack the basket a little more in the second half," said Central coach Rick Nault, whose club was ranked fourth in Eastern Mass., two spots behind Lowell. "I thought that, plus some good defensive stops, made the difference.

"Billy Marsden is the toughest guy I've seen at Central in a long time. He's not afraid to take it inside against all the trees (big guys). He's just a winner."

Marsden had plenty of help. Adrian Gonzalez had 17 points and nine rebounds and he scored eight points in Central's 25-point third quarter as the Raiders rallied from a 29-23 halftime deficit. Also, 6-9 sophomore Carson Desrosiers contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Moreover, athletic KB Oshodi chipped in with nine points, including five in the third quarter, and even 5-10 Walson Constant got in the act under the basket, putting in a sensational putback early in the fourth quarter.

As aggressive, physical and confident as Central played in the second half, that was far from the case in the first half. The host Raiders had trouble holding onto the ball and Lowell took advantage, forcing 12 turnovers and taking a 15-10 lead after the first quarter and 29-23 edge at halftime.

"They have a good defense and we were having some trouble getting good shots," said Nault. "We made some adjustments (mainly attacking the basket) that seemed to work."

For Lowell, forward Fernando Perez was acrobatic around the basket on his way to 20 points and standout forward Matt Welch added 13 points even if he was only 5 of 17 from the floor.

"They just outhustled us in the fourth quarter and got to more loose balls," said Lowell coach Scott Boyle. "As I told my team, to go through a season undefeated is very rare." A Lowell victory would have all but wrapped up the MVC Large title, but now the crown is up for grabs with three league games remaining.

"This was huge," said Marsden. "We had a chip on our shoulder after last time and we had to beat them. There were people talking that we wouldn't win and that they (Lowell) had better matchups."

That, of course, proved not to be the case, especially for Marsden.