Lawrence saw its tournament hopes dashed by Dighton-Rehoboth, dropping a 48-41 decision to fall to 8-11 with just one game remaining. Bryan Martinez led the Lancers with 14 points.
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Boys Basketball, 02/18/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Max Silveira had 13 points and seven assists to lead Andover past Lawrence 61-49. Chris Dunn added 16 points and four 3-pointers.
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Boys Basketball, 02/12/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Sophomore David Giribaldi led three Andover players in double figures with 17 points as the Warriors downed Lawrence, 67-56. Tre'von Farley and Roberto Speing had 13 points and 10 rebounds each in the loss for the Lancers.
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Boys Basketball, 01/29/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Methuen quickly seized the lead against Lawrence, fought off several second-half runs and survived for a 76-68 victory.
It was the first time since Jan. 2, 2007 that the Rangers defeated the Lancers, breaking a run of eight straight losses. After opening with five straight wins, Lawrence has now lost four of its last five games.
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Boys Basketball, 01/18/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Lawrence cut a 16-point lead down to six behind a ferocious effort from Roberto Speing (team-high 12 points), but Central Catholic's teamwork at both ends of the court quelled the threat in a 63-46 victory.
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Boys Basketball, 01/11/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
NORTH ANDOVER — "Coach has been here 31 years, and he's missed two games. That's a pretty good record. I just think his players wanted to show they appreciate it," said interim coach Ted Schruender.
With head coach Mike McVeigh out with a nasty flu bug, the Knights blasted out to a 15-1 lead over Lawrence and protected the margin admirably, holding off a late Lancer charge for the 66-56 win.
"We expect him back for our next game," Schruender of McVeigh, who was kept up to date via text by his son John at courtside. "I think he knew we have some pretty good leadership out here in guys like Derek (Collins) and Isaiah Nelsen, and the kids responded very well."
The Knights, disappointed over the break in an opening-round loss to rival Andover in the Christmas Tournament, showed they have recovered nicely by moving to 6-1.
Lawrence, playing without three regulars including big man Tre'Von Farley, simply had no answers for the Knight inside tandem of Chris Bardwell (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Isaiah Nelsen (17, 10).
"We just didn't box them out," lamented Lancer skipper Raymond Nunez, noting that guards Luis Torres and Julius Martinez joined Farley with what the coach termed "injuries."
"A lot like the Central game, we started very slowly, especially on defense, and we struggled again on the foul line. It's tough to come back all the time."
Especially when you hit just 11 of 28 free throws.
The defense can be worked on and improved. But can anything be done to help the foul shooting?
"Just get in the gym and keep shooting them," said Nunez.
Leading 25-18 at the break, the Knights pushed it to 54-36 after three.
"We expected a run from Lawrence," said Schruender. "That's what happens in the MVC."
Lawrence, behind 11 second half points from Brian Morales and some courageous drives by Esmellin Romero (team-high 18 points), the Lancers closed to 60-54 with 2:05 left on a Dantae Neal follow.
But Bardwell delivered a back-breaking stickback with about 90 seconds left, and the Knights preserved the win making 4 of 7 free throws to ice it.
"We all definitely miss Coach McVeigh," said Collins, who had 18 points in the win. "But you have to give it up for Coach Schruender. I mean, he found out he'd be coaching the game on Thursday, 15 minutes before practice. And he did a great job for us."
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Boys Basketball, 01/04/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
LAWRENCE — Any prayers of empty tanks or thoughts of a letdown were washed away almost immediately.
With a second straight Christmas Tournament title in its sights, the Central Catholic boys ran the home team off the floor with a near-perfect opening quarter and left no doubt in a 77- 59 championship victory before about 700 fans here last night.
"This team, in terms of mental toughness, is the best group we've ever had," said Raider coach Rick Nault, who now has five Christmas titles in seven years at the helm. "They've been through a lot of emotion the last three days, and they've handled it brilliantly."
Tournament Most Valuable Player Doug Gemmell rang the alarm for the Raiders, pumping in their first six points to erase Lawrence's only lead of the night, at 2-0.
The senior forward netted 12 and Tyler Nelson hit all four of his first quarter shots — three bombs and a driving runner — helping the Raiders built a 27-13 lead on 10 of 15 shooting.
"We played a lot harder (Friday night vs. St. Anthony's of NJ) than we did on Thursday and it carried over into this one," said "Baby Face" Nelson, an all-tourney selection who led all scorers with 22.
"We executed well on offense and had great ball movement, and that created good shots."
Nelson played a little bit angry last night, having struggled in Thursday night's semifinal with Andover.
"I guess you could say I was in a bit of a mini-slump," said Nelson, something we hadn't seen from him in two amazing seasons with the Raiders. "Some days they fall. Some days they don't. I just got in the gym and put up a bunch of shots. I found my rhythm again, and I started to get much better looks."
The lead bumped to 19 at the half, 42-23, and the Lancers never got closer than 13 after the break.
"Central's record in big games speaks for itself. They've won many of these (18th overall) and have won two state titles under (Coach Rick Nault)," said Lancer coach Raymond Nunez. "My job now is to go ahead and find solutions to beat them. Those solutions are going to be found on defense."
Lawrence brought the lunch-pails as the Lancers typically do, with undersized Tre'Von Farley (11 points, 9 rebounds)and Roberto Speing (14 points, 12 boards)winning more than their share of the battles.
But too many turnovers led to easy hoops the other way, and some woeful work on the foul line (14-of-29) didn't help matters either.
"This was a big test for us, and whether it's by two or 50, it's still a loss," said Nunez, whose club makes the New Year's turn at 5-1. "All we can do is keep working at it."
Nick Cambio added a dozen points for Central, and Nault was forced to the Central bench early and often as starters Lucas Hammel and Joel Berroa were buried by foul problems.
Sixth and seventh men Jamahl Lopez and Mike Barry continued to prove they fit right into the rotation nicely with eight points apiece.
"I think we've shown and I'm very comfortable with our top seven," said Nault. "Austin Perry and Aaron Hall might be moving in at 8 and 9, but we'll still have to see."
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Boys Basketball, 12/29/12 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Tre'Von Farley attacked the rim with ferocity en route to a game-high 18 points and Lawrence defeated Pinkerton 65-52.
The win punched the Lancers' tickets to the finals of the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tourney, where they will face Central Catholic in a rematch of last year's finale.
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Boys Basketball, 12/27/12 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Lawrence pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Methuen, 69-58, in the opening round of the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tourney. Roberto Speing had 16 points and Tre'Von Farley 14 for the winners. Tim Galloway-Burke had 14 for the Rangers.
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Boys Basketball, 12/20/12 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Lawrence tapped off the Raymond Nunez era with an easy 72-44 win over Dracut.
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Boys Basketball, 12/11/12 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
