Xaverian boys earn berth in D1 semifinals

NORTH ANDOVER — Two seasons ago, the Xaverian basketball team got off to another rough start with an 0-10 record.

The sophomores on that squad rallied for a strong finish that season, helped lead a run to the Round of 16 last winter as juniors, and on Friday night, the senior-laden Hawks pulled off a gutty 5552 win in the Division 1 quarterfinals at No. 4 North Andover, lifting the program to the semifinals for the first time since 1990.

“They set a goal beginning of the season, and this was their goal: to make the final four,” said fifth-year coach Ryan Sheehan. “I’m so proud of these kids. There were some dark days early on when I took over the program. They could have given in, but they wanted to change it and they did.”

The fifth-seeded Hawks (17-6) will take on topseeded defending champion Worcester North (22-0) in a semifinal matchup at a neutral site (time, date TBD).

Xaverian mixed in a few zone defenses and slowed the pace throughout the contest. Star senior Zach Wolinski and the Scarlet Knights (18-5) trailed, 24-21, at the half, but eventually pulled ahead for a 40-35 lead on a pair of 3-pointers from Brian Gyorda.

Wolinski (9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) impacted the game with his passing, finding Gyorda for another trey to make it a 48-45 game in the fourth quarter. However, JJ Honekamp (17 points) responded immediately with a triple and Lorenzo Carrara (19 points) proved to be a steadying force for the Hawks with some clutch buckets down the stretch.

“We talked about it all year. Just be levelheaded,” said Carrara. “JJ Honekamp drained a huge 3. That was a game-changer. We knew [the Knights] were going to hit shots, but we knew if we just stayed levelheaded. “I remember how demoralizing [the 0-10 start was] and this just feels unreal.”