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Gonzalez, Central manhandle St. John's

Thursday, February, 21 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

Let the real season begin.

Central Catholic put the finishing touches on an impressive 19-2 regular-season campaign, dusting St. John's Prep in a 75-56 state tourney tune-up before about 1,000 fans last night at Memorial Gym.

Both teams head to the Division 1 North tournament, with pairings to be announced tomorrow night.

"Coming in, Senior night, was tough for all of us, plus we had the little memorial (to their late teammate Ryan Bourque) going before the game," said senior Adrian Gonzalez of the pre-game ceremonies which included the Raiders saluting Bourque's family by giving them a ball signed by the team and Ryan's framed red No. 45 jersey.

"Coach told us to take out the emotions in a good way, for the team."

St. John's, with one of the most creative offensive players in the state, Ryan O'Connell, can score with anyone. Defending Central was a whole different story, though. Employing a funky, 1-2-2 zone look, the Prep, which had won eight of its last nine games, never slowed down the Raiders.

"I think we're going to see a lot of that in the state tournament," said Central coach Rick Nault. "Teams have seen that we've struggled a little bit with it. We're trying to work on it in practice and get a little more efficient at it."

Gonzalez continues to soar above the crowd, ripping off 22 points with 16 rebounds, shooting 10 of 16 from the field in an efficient night.

Included were a pair of dunks. One, was a lefty one-hander off the drive from the high post and the other was on an alley-oop with Wilfredo Pagan (8 assists) delivering the perfect lob.

The Bentley-bound Gonzalez added a 35-foot, fast-break bounce pass for a highlight-reel assist — one of his four — plus three blocks.

Often he got the ball unmolested at the foul line. The 6-foot-5 leaper just attacked.

"I'd seen the one-on-one situation and took it to them," said Gonzalez, who is now averaging 17.1 points a game. "I saw the kid really couldn't guard me, and coach told me once you get the ball, go to the basket."

Also for the Raiders, senior Rory Blinn dropped in a season-high 11 points, and the pesky Pagan added nine points. Billy Marsden netted 16 points, while chasing the always-busy O'Connell (27 points) much of the night through an endless maze of screens.

The Prep got as close as seven in the second half, 40-33, but a Marsden 3-point bomb and a traditional 3-point drive from Gonzalez ended that threat before it really got started.