RallyNorth.net

Lancers qualify for tourney

LAWRENCE – Had it all the time, right?

Well, not exactly. But Lawrence High senior Kevin Vanderhorst and the Lancers will take it.

“It was hard, but we got it. We got it,” said Vanderhorst of the Lancers' elusive tourney-clinching 11^th win.

Lawrence, needing a win in last night's regular season finale with North Andover to qualify for the postseason, seized the opportunity in the way their suspended head coach Raymond Nunez would demand.

Smothering defense.

“We were looking to stop their guy, Robbie (Couyoumjian), and I think we did a good job,” said Vanderhorst. “We had our best defender (Jayson Desoto) playing him one on one. He did a great job.”

Trailing 17-14 in the middle of the second quarter, Lawrence held North Andover without a hoop for over seven minutes. The resulting 25-4 that spanned halftime was more than enough to put the Knights away as the Lancers pulled away for the comfy 60-38 decision.

As he has much of the season, Vanderhorst set the tone with his relentless work on the backboards. He finished with a game-high 17 points and nine boards. Southpaw Marcos Germosen chipped in a dozen points off the glass, where Lawrence had its way most of the night.

Desoto had nine points but did his best work on the defensive end where he shadowed Knights' bomber Couyoumjian.

When Desoto got tired, it was Mikey Caban applying the heat.

The gritty Couyoumjian finished his career with the nights, working hard for each of his team-high 16 points, before leaving to a nice round of applause for his tenacious senior campaign.

Freshman Darren Watson showed glimpses of the future, scoring 12 for North Andover.

North Andover finishes up at 5-15, while 11-10 Lawrence becomes a scary draw for anyone in Division 1 North.

You have to wonder which Lawrence team you'll get in the tourney. The one that dominated the Knights last night, owns a pair of comfortable wins over Central Catholic and also blasted MVC large champ Lowell? Or the one that has losses at Billerica and Chelmsford?

“We're playing our best basketball right now. To be honest, I wasn't worried about making the tournament because I trust my team,”said Vanderhorst. “We got a little scared to be eliminated. Now we can be dangerous.”