RallyNorth.net

Lawrence out fast

LAWRENCE — Above all else, Lawrence coach Jesus Moore is looking for one thing from his squad.

"We have to be more consistent," said Moore Friday night.

And, for the most part, that's what he got in a 76-66 victory over crosstown rival Central Catholic. That marked the second time the Lancers have beaten Central this year, the other coming in the Commonwealth Christmas Classic.

One of the most consistent Lancers Friday was senior Jeremiah Melendez, who led all scorers with a season-high 19 points. He was 5 for 8 from the floor and a pivotal 8 for 9 from the line, including 6 for 7 in the fourth quarter when Central tried to cap a comeback from a surprising 38-19 halftime deficit.

"The coach was hard on me in practice yesterday on my free throws," said Melendez. "I haven't been that successful but I really tried to concentrate on them tonight."

Melendez also was successful slashing to the basket and he had three steals on defense.

"Jeremiah had a good game tonight and he's capable of that," said Moore. "He just has to be more consistent like a lot of our guys."

The Lancers (8-3) were pretty much all consistent in an impressive first half, especially on defense. They were contesting all of the Raiders' shots and they forced seven turnovers in the first quarter alone while taking a 16-10 lead that they extended to 38-17 at halftime a sthe offense picked up the pace.

Melendez had six points in that frame on two traditional 3-point plays and electric sophomore Abraham Estrada had five of his nine first-half points.

"I think this was a statement game so we wanted to come out strong," said Melendez. "We knew they wanted us bad after we beat them in the Christmas tournament so we really went after it."

Agreed Moore: "The kids were locked in and really wanted this one. They played hard. We were making mistakes, but the effort was there."

Perhaps stung by its first half performance (6 of 28 shooting, 12 turnovers), Central played much better in the second half and behind seight points from Xavier McKenzie and six from Jonathan Peguero, narrowed the score to 51-41 entering the fourth quarter.

But Lawrence went on an 11-2 run to start the fourth quarter, pretty much wiping out any chance of the Raiders completing a comeback.

Joining Melendez in double figures for Lawrence in what was a balanced effort were Brandon Goris and Gabe Zorrilla with 14 points apiece and Angel Herrera with 13. He had eight points down the stretch which, along with Melendez, kept Central at bay.

 McKenzie led Central with 17 points, but he had to work hard for that total and was just six of 20 from the floor. Nate Godin had four 3-pointers and 16 points, Anthony Trafocante finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds andVictor Metivier was impressive coming off the bench, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter.