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Central boys down Knights in Xmas semis

METHUEN — North Andover had the skill, talent and heart to stay with Central Catholic but, unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, they simply had no answer for big men Sam Lara and Colin Bradanese.

The two Raider big men dominated the paint, combining for 36 points and 17 rebounds, and scored some key buckets down the stretch to keep the Knights at bay. Coupled with some timely outside shooting, Central was able to punch its ticket to the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic final with a 65-55 win.

Central led for most of the game, but the Knights kept within striking distance right up until the final minutes. The pivotal sequence came with about four minutes left, when Bradanese knocked down a 3-pointer and made a couple of baskets in a row to hold off a last-ditch rally by the Knights. 

“That was the difference,” Central coach Rick Nault said of Bradanese, who finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds. “North Andover was making a bit of a run, so we called a couple of sets to get the ball into his hands, and he played really well in that stretch. That’s the type of plays we need from him. He needs to be the best player on the floor. We expect an awful lot from him.”

Central jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but North Andover bounced back to tie the game at 12-12 at the end of the first. After that, Central’s bigs took over, as the Raiders surged ahead to take a 33-21 lead at halftime.

The Knights chipped away at the deficit from there, but when Bradanese wasn’t coming up with clutch buckets, Lara was. The 6-4 senior forward scored a game-high 22 points, including six in the final two minutes, to finish the game.

Victor Mwuarah chipped in 12 points, going 4-4 at the line with a pair of 3-pointers, and Dom Keegan added 11 points with three 3-pointers. North Andover was led by Connor Rogers and Jake McElroy (13 points each) and by Darren Watson (11 points).

With Andover’s dramatic win over top-seeded Methuen in the late semifinal, Central Catholic is now set to face its traditional Christmas rival in a clash of the tournament’s two winningest programs. Speaking before the two teams took the court, Nault said he expects a tough test in the final.

“Both teams are incredibly tough teams, they’re well coached, you’ve got E.J. Perry on one side and Kevin Fernandez on the other with great supporting casts on both teams,” Nault said. “Neither team is easy to play against and whoever we play it will be a battle.”

The Christmas Tourney championship game will be played Thursday at 8 p.m. at Methuen High. North Andover will face Methuen in a rematch of last Tuesday’s thriller in the 3rd place game at 6:15 p.m.

Central Catholic 65, North Andover 55

Christmas Tourney Semifinals

Central Catholic (65): Bret Edwards 0 0-0 0, Victor Mwuarah 3 4-4 12, Dom Keegan 4 0-0 11, Sam Lara 9 4-4 22, Colin Bradanese 5 3-5 14, Kevin Constant 2 0-2 4, George Smith 1 0-0 2, Matt Downer 0 0-0 0, Manny Sanchez 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 11-15 65

North Andover (55): Darren Watson 3 3-4 11, Jake McElroy 5 3-4 13, Connor Rogers 4 4-8 13, Ben O’Connell 1 0-0 2, Matt Rosenthal 1 0-0 3, Nick Martin 3 0-0 6, Jack Fowler 2 2-2 7, Chim Ogwuru 0 0-2 0. Totals: 19 12-20 55

3-pointers: CC — Keegan 3, Mwuarah 2, Bradanese; NA — Watson 2, Rogers, Rosenthal, Fowler

Central Catholic (3-0): 12 21 10 22 — 65

North Andover (2-2): 12  9 14 20 — 55