Cambridge ends Central Catholic season
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NORTH ANDOVER — The plan was fairly straightforward. Central Catholic knew that open 3-pointers would be hard to come by against Cambridge Rindge and Latin, especially after the Raiders lit it up during their last game against Everett.
The Raiders expected the Falcons would press hard around the perimeter, relying on their dominant frontcourt players to clean up anything that came inside. So the plan was this — go straight at All-Scholastic center Dimon Carrigan and beat the Falcons at their own game.
But as it turned out, that was a much tougher task to execute than it might have looked on paper.
“We wanted to be aggressive going to the rim and getting post scores, and they just blocked a lot of our shots,” said Central coach Rick Nault. “It seemed like every time we had a clean look at the rim they came out of nowhere and erased it.”
Central Catholic played a strong game on defense, but undefeated Cambridge’s tall, athletic lineup proved too much as the Raiders lost 60-44 in Saturday’s Division 1 North Final in front of more than 2,200 fans at North Andover High School.
The game got off to a good start for Central, as the Raiders held the Falcons to just 2 for 13 shooting and seven points in the first quarter. Bret Edwards, who tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points, drained a 3-pointer from 35 feet out at the buzzer to give Central at 12-7 lead after the first.
But after that, Cambridge got rolling and Central couldn’t stop the avalanche that followed. The Falcons outscored the Raiders 21-8 in the second quarter, shooting 8 for 10 from the field, primarily on transition buckets and put-backs following offensive rebounds. Cambridge led 28-20 at the half, and while Central did at one point pull within five points, the Falcons responded with another big run to essentially put the game away for good.
“You knew at some point they were going to make a big run,” Nault said. “They got to us on the offensive glass in the second quarter and they really dictated the tempo of the game, and again we had a hard time recovering from that.”
Although Central didn’t get the production it was looking for on the inside generally, senior forward Sam Lara did put forth a great effort, particularly late. Lara scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, most of which were hooks over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-8 Carrigan and the 6-foot-5 UMaine football commit Daniel Rymer.
Carrigan finished with a triple double, his second against Central Catholic this season. He finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks. Jakigh Dottin had 13 points and Kareem Octavien had 12, including three backbreaking 3-pointers. Cambridge (22-0), the defending Division 1 state champs, will now face Needham in the Division 1 state semifinals on Tuesday at the TD Garden.
MEMORABLE SEASON
Central Catholic isn’t normally anybody’s idea of an underdog, and under most circumstances a season with a Christmas Tourney title, an MVC Large title and a Division 1 North Final appearance would seem fairly routine for the Raiders.
But from day one, this year’s Central Catholic team has felt itself under siege. After All-MVC caliber players Tanahj Pettway and Kevin Fernandez abruptly transferred to new schools, Central was left with a roster without a superstar, and many around the area figured the team might take a step back as a result.
The remaining Central players heard all the rumblings, and took them to heart.
“We were projected to finish third in the MVC behind Methuen and sometimes North Andover too, and I feel like we really shocked a lot of people,” said junior Colin Bradanese. “I feel like we really improved a lot and we came a long way since day one.”
“I feel like we climbed the mountain this year,” said senior co-captain Victor Mwaurah. “We weren’t the most talented team and we weren’t the team expected to do the most, but we worked hard every day and I think everybody on the team accounted for that. I think it showed in our play and we had a terrific season.”
Though the sting of Saturday’s loss was painfully evident on the faces of the Central players and coaches, the Raiders said that once the disappointment from the defeat runs its course, they will look back on their season with pride.
“We hadn’t won the league in a couple of years and for us to do that without some guys we thought would be in our program, I’m incredibly proud of our guys,” Nault said. “Whenever you can win the Christmas Tournament, win the league and get to the North Finals, I don’t know if there is a coach in the state that wouldn’t call that a successful season.”
Central finishes the year 20-6.
Cambridge 60, Central Catholic 44
Division 1 North Final
Cambridge Rindge & Latin (60): Dimon Carrigan 6-4-16, Daniel Rymer 5-2-12, Jakigh Dottin 4-5-13, Jonathan Cenescor 0-0-0, Isaias Berhe 1-0-3, Aiden Keefer 0-0-0, Kareem Octavien 3-3-12, Malik Brandao-Correia 1-1-4. Totals 20-15-60
Central Catholic (44): George Smith 1-0-2, Kevin Constant 0-0-0, Bret Edwards 5-3-14, Victor Mwaurah 2-0-5, Dominic Keegan 1-0-3, Sam Lara 6-2-14, Manny Sanchez 2-0-4, Matt Downer 0-0-0, Dennis Quinn 0-0-0, Colin Bradanese 0-2-2, Andy Kalala 0-0-0, Jalen Aquino 0-0-0. Totals 17-7-44
3-pointers: C — Berhe, Octavien 3, Brandao-Correia; C — Edwards, Mwaurah, Keegan
Cambridge (22-0): 7 21 14 18 — 60
Central Catholic (20-6): 12 8 12 12 — 44
Game Statistics:
Division 1 North Final
Cambridge Rindge & Latin (60): Dimon Carrigan 6-4-16, Daniel Rymer 5-2-12, Jakigh Dottin 4-5-13, Jonathan Cenescor 0-0-0, Isaias Berhe 1-0-3, Aiden Keefer 0-0-0, Kareem Octavien 3-3-12, Malik Brandao-Correia 1-1-4. Totals 20-15-60
Central Catholic (44): George Smith 1-0-2, Kevin Constant 0-0-0, Bret Edwards 5-3-14, Victor Mwaurah 2-0-5, Dominic Keegan 1-0-3, Sam Lara 6-2-14, Manny Sanchez 2-0-4, Matt Downer 0-0-0, Dennis Quinn 0-0-0, Colin Bradanese 0-2-2, Andy Kalala 0-0-0, Jalen Aquino 0-0-0. Totals 17-7-44
3-pointers: C — Berhe, Octavien 3, Brandao-Correia; C — Edwards, Mwaurah, Keegan
