Boston Herald

Central works OT to nip BC High

- By Matt Feld mattwfeld@gmail.com

LAWRENCE >> With its back up against the wall, Central Catholic‘s defense was as good as ever.

Joey Hart came through with a clutch three-point play and the Raiders held BC High without a field goal over the final seven minutes as No. 14 Central Catholic knocked off the No. 13 Eagles, 51-46, in overtime on Wednesday night.

Central Catholic advances to the Division 1 quarterfin­als to play No. 5 Needham on Saturday.

“We’re so battle tested with the schedule we play that our guys just don’t get rattled,” Central Catholic coach Mark Dunham said. “Our guys are confident and they are when they have to be.”

BC High led 44-40 with just over two minutes left in regulation and the ball, but two turnovers and a pair of layups from Marcus Rivera tied the game at 44.

Central Catholic had four chances to win the game at the end of regulation, but each threepoint­er hit the rim, sending the game to overtime. The Eagles grabbed a one point edge, 46-45, midway through the extra session on two free throws from Ivan Yhomby but Hart answered with a three-point play at the other end to put Central on top 48-46.

Defensivel­y, meanwhile, the Raiders forced the Eagles into late shot clock situations and off balance attempts. From the three minute mark of the fourth quarter through the final buzzer, Central held BC High without a field goal.

“We’ve just been in these spots a ton these last few weeks,” Dunham said. “BC High is a terrific defensive team and (head coach) Bill Loughnane does an outstandin­g job. Thankfully for us though we made the last few plays and had a great crowd behind us.”

The first half proved to be a rock fight with both sides failing to gain offensive traction. A Nick Sangermano three-pointer gave Central a 24-21 lead at the half.

BC High grabbed a onepoint edge heading into the fourth, and Quinn Costello canned a pair of triples to help stretch the lead to 40-35 with 4:40 to play. Sangermano, however, came through with a pair of clutch steals, including one with a minute to play that set up Rivera’s game tying layup with a minute to go.

Central Catholic turned BC High over 29 times.

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