RallyNorth.net

Malden no match for Raiders

Saturday, March, 01 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

LAWRENCE — The Central Catholic boys faced their first postseason crisis, sloughing it off with ease in an 86-57 thumping of outclassed Malden before a packed house of 1,400 at Memorial Gym last night.

The No. 4 Raiders (21-2) now draw the No. 1 team in EMass, Charlestown, in the North semifinals. The Townies avenged their only loss of the year yesterday, dousing East Boston in the quarters, 79-67.

Central's victory may have been by nearly 30 points, but it didn't come without a little drama.

Upset-minded Malden had sliced the lead to 23-20, and Raider senior standout Adrian Gonzalez, the recently named MVC Large School MVP, was hit with his third foul, an inconsequential off-the-ball bump with 5:34 left in the first half.

Malden had dreams of the shocker.

Instead, the Raiders ran off a 22-4 burst and sent the visitors sauntering to the locker room wondering what might have been.

"Adrian went out but this is a very deep team," said sophomore Carson Desrosiers, again an impenetrable force around the hoop with 14 blocks on the night. "We just went to our high energy group, guys like Timmy (Wheeler) and KB (Oshodi) and just ran them off the floor.

"We were up three and by halftime it was 20 (actually 21)." A 3-pointer from Billy Marsden kick-started the avalanche and a Desrosiers stickback at the halftime buzzer finished it.

In between, Oshodi (10 points) chipped in three high-flying hoops and Walson Constant added a crushing 3 of his own to silence the Tornadoes.

"It seemed like every guy we went to all night long gave us something positive," said Raider coach Rick Nault. "They made us look like geniuses, no matter who we used out there."

Malden never recovered as any minor flareup was squelched by a Desrosiers block, a Gonzalez jam or some other Raider stepping up to the task.

All the Central starters were gone for the night early in the fourth quarter.

Desrosiers ended with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Marsden delivered 15 points.

Point guard Wilfredo Pagan was again steady, doing little wrong in a 13-point night, while Gonzalez, shackled by the officials' whistles, was held to 10.

"Charlestown is the No. 1 team in the state," said Desrosiers. "I know we'll be ready.'

The Raiders are in a similar position as a year ago when they knocked off then-No. 1 and unbeaten Lexington in the North semis.