RallyNorth.net

Lawrence pulls it together late, avoids upset

Tuesday, March, 01 By Hector Longo

LAWRENCE — Desperate times hit the Lawrence High hoop team a bit prematurely in the Division 1 North tourney last night.

No. 18 Chelmsford led 15th-seeded listless Lawrence by eight (47-39) midway through the third quarter, and both all-conference Lancers Jaylen Alicea and Jesse Hiraldo had been summoned to the bench by coach Paul Neal.

The response was enlightening, at least to Neal.

Sparkplug Kadeem Perez slapped some life into his mates with three of his eight steals and the energy powered Lawrence to the 75-64 preliminary round decision.

"Look at the adjustments we had to make. Look at the people who contributed, it was all these different guys," said Neal, whose club travels to second-seeded Cambridge for a first-round matchup Friday night at 7 p.m. "And the guys who are usually the guys were right there to support them. It was a total team win."

Perez, the senior, finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. He wasn't the only unsung Lancer to step into the void and make a difference.

Francis Spraus, at 6-foot-1, played in the center spot down the stretch when it mattered. He added a dozen points. Senior Jezer Rodriguez, who averaged less than two minutes a game in the regular season, got the start in Hiraldo's spot and chipped in six points and five boards. Freshman Roberto Speing (9 rebounds) and Tre'von Farley (4 points)each played valuable minutes.

"Defense did it," Said Spraus. "Guys started to realize, this was it, so we just all picked it up. Coach puts a lot of work in it for us. We had to do it for him."

For Perez, it was just a matter of anticipation on defense.

"That's exactly the way he's been practicing the last couple days," said Neal. "It's been great to see."

Jaylen Alicea led the Lancers with 19 points, but the senior did most his damage, late keeping things comfortable with eight straight free throws in the final 70 seconds.

For Spraus and the 10 Lancer seniors, victory represented new life and a sigh of relief.

"We're definitely happy to get this one out of the way," said Spraus. "Now we just go one practice at a time, one game at a time."