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Central defends Bay State honor, topples Hendricken

Sunday, February, 08 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

LAWRENCE - Staring down illness, constant defensive pressure and a high-powered Bishop Hendricken arsenal, the Central Catholic boys defended the Bay State's hoop reputation admirably.

Holding Hendricken, the monster of the Rhode Island Prep scene to five fourth quarter-points and zero field goals over the final 6:13, Central, now 16-1, rebounded from an eight-point deficit to pull out the matinee thriller, 58-55, at Memorial Gym.

Brave Benny Fernandez, who made as many trips to the men's room because of a flu bug as he did to the basket, came up with a crucial steal, sending Billy Marsden away for a breakaway layup and the lead 56-54, with 1:22 left.

Hendricken had its chances.

Billy Baron, the No. 1 rated senior in the Ocean State, missing a long three. It was about all the son of URI coach James Baron missed in a 25-point afternoon.

Then, after a Central miss, Ricardo Ledo made only one of two free throws that could have tied things with :04.5 on the clock.

Finally, after a pair of cool Carson Desrosiers free throws, Ledo would heave a 30-foot prayer that was not close at the buzzer.

Central improved to 16-1 and in the process might have found a vital bench contributor in lightly-used senior Jose Pena.

"We've been saying the last couple weeks that there'd be a game he breaks out," said Raider coach Rick Nault. "He's been doing a lot of good things. You could see it early on. We stayed with him and he made some huge, huge plays down the stretch.

"He's a pretty good player. Unfortunately he's stuck behind Jimmy Zenevitch and Carson Desrosiers, which takes away from his minutes."

Seeing considerable second-half time, Pena clocked career highs in points (9) and rebounds (10), clearly lighting a fire under his team.

"A lot of guys aren't feeling well, coach called on me, so I answered the bell," said Pena, who chipped in a giant stickback to beat the buzzer to end the third quarter and added five more of his points in the final eight minutes as the Raiders rallied from 50-44 down.

"Any minutes, I go in, I'm ready. I work hard in practice, going against Carson. Opportunities like today make it all worth it."

Billy Marsden struggled from the field (4 for 18) but willed his way to a team-high 16 points, while Desrosiers, hindered by a collapsing Hendricken defense, owned the backboards with 15 rebounds and managed a dozen points.

Pena's contribution off the bench was complemented by eight from reserve guard Michael Alvarez, while the sophomore Zenevitch added eight points as well.

Central looks to close out Merrimack Valley Conference play at a perfect 13-0 when it hosts Haverhill Tuesday night.