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March 5, 2014 · 2:07 am

Central Catholic downs St. John’s Prep 81-74 in overtime to win D1 North semi-finals

Ben Judson (30 points) and Tyler Nelson (19 points)

Central Catholic controlled the inside. Here Aaron Hall (19 points) puts back a rebound

(Beverly MA) Central Catholic put ten straight points together in overtime to defeat St. John’s Prep, 81-74, in the Division 1 North semi-finals on Tuesday night.

The Raiders (20-5) will now play Andover in the D1 North finals on Saturday at the Tsongas Center.

Ten lead changes in the first quarter gives you a sense of what kind of game St. John’s/Central Catholic was early on. The pace was fast and the shots were falling for both teams.

The Eagles went on to dominate most of the second and third quarter (up 59-50 in the 3rd) before the Raiders came all the way back and took the lead on an Alex Santos layup in the last minute of regulation.

On the Eagles possession, Mike Bisson was able to make one of two free throws to tie the score (67-67) with forty-five seconds left.

AJ Pettway defends Kareem Davis

The Raiders then had a turnover (steal by Max Butterbrodt) setting up St. John’s with plenty of time to get the point or points needed for the win. But a terrific defensive job my sophomore AJ Pettway on junior Kareem Davis (11 points) extended the game into overtime.

In overtime, St. John’s had the lead (71-69) 1+ minutes in on a spinning layup by Max Burt (16 points).

AJ Pettway, who was shutout for four quarters, scored four points in overtime giving CC the lead for good (73-71) with a rebound conversion.

Junior Ben Judson (30 points) carried the Eagles for three quarters collecting twenty-four points. Five of the baskets came from long range. Thereafter, the lefty cooled off and each miss seemed to add to his frustration. That frustration turned costly as Ben was assessed a technical foul with a minute left in overtime after missing a shot. Tyler Nelson drained the resulting free throws putting Central Catholic ahead, 75-71. The Eagles never recovered as CC added four more free throws.

Nick Cambio (19 points) shoots over Mike Bisson

St. John’s spent most of the night taking and making difficult shots. The Raiders had size inside (Nick Cambio & Aaron Hall) and normal layups for the Eagles were infrequent.

On the other hand, Central Catholic shot plenty of high percentage shots. The Eagles had no answers for 6-6 Nick Cambio (19 points) when he got the ball down low. Aaron Hall (19 points) stayed close to the basket and when Tyler Nelson (19 points) required an extra defender it was usually Aaron’s defender. Tyler had six assists (by my count) and most of them were to Aaron for layups.

The Beverly Fieldhouse filled early because if there is a rivalry that will deliver excitement it is this one.

Also on hand were two of the best student sections you’ll ever see. There was plenty of back-and-forth chanting and cheering as the game unfolded.

Alec Buresh hit two straight 3’s for CC in the second quarter.

Alex Santos had ten points for Central Catholic. The Raiders set up Alex (6-foot) in the lane on an inbounds play.

Central Catholic box

St. John’s Prep box

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Tyler Nelson drives on Max Burt (16 points) as CC coach Rick Nault watches

Alex Santos puts in a rebound

Central Catholic cheerleaders

Max Butterbrodt defends Tyler Nelson

Kareem Davis launches a three at the end of the first quarter

Max Butterbrodt, Kareem Davis, Max Burt, Ben Judson

Tyler Nelson sank six free throws in overtime

Aj Pettway and Ben Judson

Eagles student section tries to distract free throw shooter Nick Cambio

Central Catholic overpowers North Andover 73-59 to avenge earlier loss

Nick Cambio (13 points) dominated the inside for Central Catholic

Aaron Hall (#30) had nineteen points for CC

(North Andover MA) For a quarter this looked like a duplicate of the January 5th game. The rest of the way…………not so much!

Central Catholic (15-4) took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back defeating North Andover, 73-59, on Tuesday night in Merrimack Valley Conference play.

In January’s 68-65 win at Central Catholic, North Andover had the shooting to match the Raiders. The Knights’ John Enright connected six times from long range and teammate Spencer Reeve added twenty points.

John Enright (13 points) clicked three times from long distance in the first quarter this time around and carried NA to an 18-14 advantage.

Credit the CC defense thereafter. They didn’t cause turnovers (NA only had four in the game) but they forced the Knights into low percentage, contested shots.

Wabissa Bede (21 points) passes

Nick Cambio (6-6) covered John Enright (5-11) and the good looks for John were out at NBA distance.

Spencer Reeve (twenty points in the first game) was held scoreless. The 6-3 junior got into foul trouble early and was a non-factor.

Not only was the Raiders’ defense better but their offense was too. CC’s big men, Nick Cambio and Aaron Hall (both 6-6) ran plays together that turned up layups for both of them on numerous occasions. Nick finished with thirteen points while Aaron had nineteen.

Tyler Nelson (15 points) was his usual self. He made shots and set up teammates.

Brett Daley fires from the corner

The Knights (12-5) had a four-point lead (22-18) two minutes into the second quarter. After this, the visitors from Lawrence put nine straight together over the next 3 1/2 minutes and NA never recovered from the 27-22 deficit.

The damage in the 9-point run was done by Tyler Nelson (two free throws & runner from the right), Aaron Hall (jump shot), and Nick Cambio (old-fashioned 3-point play.)

Central Catholic led, 31-26, at the half.

The Raiders were able to get the lead into double figures (40-29) 2 1/2 minutes into the third quarter. Consecutive 3’s (AJ Pettway & Tyler Nelson) keyed the separation. Tyler’s trey was off an open look from the corner on an inbounds play.

The Raiders kept their advantage at double figures the rest of the way. On this day, NA was overmatched on both ends and no comeback before a sizable home crowd ever materialized.

Kevin Fernandez ends the third quarter from very long range

The icing-on-the-cake shot for CC was freshman Kevin Fernandez’s buzzer beater from very long range as the third quarter ended.

Sophomore Wabissa Bede (21 points) proved to be an adept ball-handler for NA. He was not shy about taking the ball toward the basket against taller opponents. Wabissa ended up at the foul line fifteen times.

Certainly a strength for Central Catholic in this one was their free throw shooting. After missing 3-of-4 in the first quarter they went 19-for-21 thereafter.

Central Catholic is undefeated (8-0) on the road. The Raiders have won eight straight and twelve of their last thirteen. Their last state title was in 2008.

Central Catholic box

North Andover box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge significantly if you click on them.)