Lancers riding herd
Loaded Lawrence stifling MVC foes
Lawrence boys basketball games are quickly becoming must-watch events. Loaded on both ends of the court with athletic and explosive players, the Lancers are fun to watch.
IN THE PAINT Sean Brennan
And so far, they’ve been tough to beat.
With Friday night’s win against previously unbeaten Lowell, Lawrence is sitting pretty in the Merrimack Valley Conference at 9-1 overall while riding a six-game winning streak. The Lancers have been torching foes with a mix of suffocating defense and transition offense that is averaging 79 points a game.
Even the Lancers’ lone loss — a 97-92 overtime defeat to Division 1 power St. John’s Prep on Dec.29 — proved that Lawrence has no intention of going away quietly once the Div. 1 state tournament begins late next month.
There is something special brewing up on North Parish Road.
“This group has grown up playing with each other, putting in the work,” Lawrence coach Raymond Nunez said. “You are going to win some games and lose some games, that is the nature of this sport, but with this team, it is always a team effort.”
“This is a special group as a whole. We have a lot of kids who have faced adversity and they lean on each other and are in it for the team. There will be bumps in the road but I and my coaching staff are really looking forward to what this group can accomplish.”
Led by the explosive Juan Felix Rodriguez, along with key contributions from Luis Reynoso, Chris Ruiz and Christian Kinsley, among others including seniors Miguel Camacho, Alesandi Cruz, Malik Bain and Sebastian Dilone, Lawrence has been punishing opponents with its athleticism on offense.
Nunez, however, points directly to his team’s improved desire on defense as the main reason his team is off to such a fast start.
“These kids have been preaching all year about defense,” Nunez said. “You need to get stops in order for us to get on the break on offense and break down the defense. It helps turn the game into a track race.”
Having put up 80-plus points in five of its first seven games, it was a solid defensive effort that propelled Lawrence to a key 72-60 comefrom-behind victory over MVC rival Andover Jan. 5. Trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Lancers came back late in the second quarter, and carried it over into the third quarter, forcing a bevy of turnovers that turned the tide.
“Defense wins games,” Nunez said. “We know that.”
Starting with Friday night’s win over Lowell, Lawrence began a stretch of MVC games that should give Nunez a better idea of his team’s makeup and moxie as the postseason approaches. On the schedule, two games remain against Central Catholic, as well as another one at Lowell, hosting North Andover and their trip to Andover.
“These are all tough teams we still have to play,” Nunez said. “In the MVC and in the state, Central Catholic is one of the top teams so it is going to be tough. But it is just a mindset that we need to take it one game at a time. You go out there and play your hearts out, defend, have fun and play for each other.”
Ducks in a row
At Fontbonne Academy, age is just a number.
Coach Clare Murphy’s girls team is young, but that hasn’t stopped the Ducks from racing out to an impressive 8-0 record.
“You know your personnel coming back, but you don’t really know how much they’ve improved over the summer,” said Murphy, whose roster includes two seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen. “We do have some good leadership on the team, but we do have a young roster, so to be undefeated at this time in the season is great.”
Seniors Annabelle Larnard and Arienne Sauvignon Howard have provided varsity experience and an understanding of the type of system Murphy likes to utilize on the court, but it has been the rapid development of sophomores Clarissa Garzon and Tasha Lima that has really allowed the Ducks to take flight.
“The players are still trying to define their roles, but we do want to be known as a team that pressures on defense and isn’t easy to score against,” Murphy said. “(Garzon and Lima) started last year (as freshmen) so that helps and those two have played a lot of minutes for us. And with our senior leadership leading the way, things have fallen into place.”
With a junior class highlighted by Katy O’Brien and Mary Ryan, a sophomore class buoyed by Grace Duncan, Bridget Feldman, and Jennifer Hegarty, and a freshman corps that includes Emma Cahill, Kayla McKenna and Shakira Montalvo, Fontbonne already has quality wins over New Mission, Marshfield and Cardinal Spellman on its resume.
And with upcoming contests still remaining against Fenway (in the MLK Invitational on Jan.28) as well as against the field (Archbishop Williams, Woburn, Newton South) in the annual Comcast Tournament at the end of the season, the Ducks have more opportunities to figure out what type of team they actually are after advancing all the way to the Div.3 South sectional finals last year.
“I think we are a work in progress, and the goal is to be playing you best basketball come late February and into March,” Murphy said. “I’ve always tried to schedule quality teams because we want to be challenged in the regular season to prepare ourselves for the state tournament. It is going to be a challenge.”