RallyNorth.net

Central survives, headed to state semis

Saturday, March, 06 By David Willis
Staff writer

BOSTON — For a few moments, it appeared disaster had struck for Central Catholic.

St. John’s Prep, trailing by as many as 14 in the third quarter, had climbed all the way back, tying the game with a bucket just seconds into the fourth quarter. That while Wake Forest-bound Raiders star Carson Desrosiers was forced to the bench with three fouls.

“Coach called a time out and just said to us that we weren’t going to lose this game,” said Desrosiers. “For the 30 seconds we just looked at each other and said, we need to start playing. Then, we went out and got on a run.”

Facing a sectional final exit from the tournament for the second straight season, Central Catholic responded with possibly its best quarter of the season, seizing control and downing the Eagles 74-62 in the Division 1 North final before a whopping crowd of about 8,000 at the TD Garden.

The Raiders advance to the state semifinals against South champion Madison Park on Monday again at the TD Garden.

“I told my guys to relax,” said Central coach Rick Nault. “I said we were going to do what we do. (The Prep) were going to make their run, we had to settle down, play defense and get it inside to our big men.”

It was once again Central’s big two that took over.

After Michael Alvarez snapped a nine-point run with a lay-up, Desrosiers and Jimmy Zenevitch combined for 12 of their 15 second-half points in the fourth quarter. The Raiders outscored the Prep 20-10 in the final frame, including a 13-2 run.

“They kept pushing and all we did was match shots for a while,” said Zenevitch. “But we finally started making a few stops, started moving the ball and things started falling for us. We know not to stop fighting.”

Zenevitch, who finishing with a team-high 19 points including an impressive two-handed dunk to cap the victory, was held scoreless in the third before tallying six key points in the fourth. Desrosiers added 16 points while chipping in a team-best 11 rebounds, five blocks and four assists.

“We let up defensively for a while,” said Desrosiers. “We stopped boxing out. But you start hitting shots, and things start to get rolling.”

Also stepping up were a pair of unsung heros.

After being held without a point in Central’s regular season matchup with the Prep, and tallying just five points in the Division 1 North semifinal, Alvarez erupted for 13 points, nine in the second half.

“After they held me scoreless the last time I really wanted to put up a few points,” said Alvarez, a co-captain. “Knocking down the first shot of the game was big, and it just kept building my confidence. I wanted to help the team, and I could.”

Known primarily for his defense, Jaycob Morales (six points) also stepped up and hit a 3-point dagger.

“Morales is our defensive guy,” said Nault. “He’s not a guy known for hitting big shots. They (the Eagles) played off of him in the last game, so I told him to be confident and shoot. He nailed them. And (Andrew) Ouellette turned in a big 3-point play.”

The Raiders now turn attention to Madison Park, which bested Mansfield in the South prior to the Central-Prep game.

“To come back to the Garden in a few days and take on (Madison Park) is so exciting,” said Desrosiers. “How many people can say they’ve played at the Garden once. It’s awesome.”