Tue, Jan 30, 2018
07:00 PM @
Methuen
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
| Lawrence |
21 |
8 |
18 |
22 |
69 |
| Methuen |
17 |
12 |
13 |
21 |
63 |
Lawrence holds off upset-minded Rangers
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Tuesday, January, 30
By Jeff Hamrick
METHUEN — Chris Ruiz and sixth-man Miguel Camacho each scored five points in the final 2:20 to power visiting Lawrence to a tougher-than-expected 69-63 victory over Methuen on Tuesday at the Klimas Field House.
The Lancers (8-1 Merrimack Valley Conference, 12-2 overall) overcame four technical fouls, including three in the fourth quarter, en route to the win.
“The ref wasn’t being with us, so we had to step it up,” said Ruiz, who scored 16 of his team-high 21 after intermission. “In the fourth quarter, that’s what counts. So, we just went out there and played our hardest. This will (show us) we have to play hard from the start.”
After scoring a mere eight points in the second quarter, Lawrence turned a halftime tie into a 47-42 lead entering the final stanza.
“That just gave us more motivation to play harder,” Camacho said of the anemic second quarter when the Lancers struggled against Methuen’s 2-3 zone defense.
A pair of threes by Ruiz and two free throws by Luis Reynoso powered the Lancers to a 55-49 lead with 6 minutes remaining.
Methuen (5-4, 7-6) countered with four free throws following two Lancer technicals and a three by Dante Rivera and another trey from Angel Mejia. It was a pair of baskets by Jhamyl Fricas that provided the Rangers their first lead (56-55) since a 5-4 early advantage.
The teams traded leads again on a put back from Lawrence’s Juan Felix Rodriguez and two more technical tosses by Rivera, who finished with a game-high 25.
But a high-looping layin off the glass by Camacho gave the Lancers the lead for good, 59-58, with 2:20 left. Camacho added a three before Ruiz scored the next five for Lawrence.
“We just needed to play harder on defense, and keep our energy up,” Camacho said. “We have to stay together as a team, and we’ll get the good wins like we just got.”
Methuen twice cut its deficit to two down the stretch on a layin from Nick Clark and a baseline three from Evan Hardy that made it 65-63 with 20.7 seconds left. But two Ruiz free throws and a put back by Reynoso finished off the Rangers.
“There are no moral victories,” Methuen coach Anthony Faradie said. “I think we left it all out on the floor. I’m proud of the guys. We haven’t maybe played consistently well all year, but I think we played real well tonight against a high-powered team.”
Game Statistics:
Lawrence (69): Juan Felix Rodriguez 6 0-0 14, Chris Ruiz 7 3-4 21, Jaden Castillo 1 5-5 7, Sebastian Dilone 0 0-0 0, Luis Reynoso 8 2-3 20, Miguel Camacho 2 0-0 5, Angel Vasquez 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 10-12 69
Methuen (63): Onyera Chibuogwu 0 0-0 0, Dante Rivera 6 9-11 25, Evan Hardy 3 1-2 10, TJ Scott 1 0-0 2, Nick Clark 6 0-5 12, Jhamyl Fricas 3 0-0 7, Angel Mejia 2 1-3 7. Totals 21 11-21 63
3-pointers: LAWRENCE — Ruiz 4, Rodriguez 2, Reynoso 2, Camacho; METHUEN — Rivera 4, Hardy 3, Mejia 2, Fricas
