RallyNorth.net

Central repeat bid ends at Tsongas

Sunday, March, 08 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

LOWELL - Lynn English accomplished what no other Bay State team could this year.
The Bulldogs flustered Central Catholic to the point of bewilderment.

Forcing 30 Raider turnovers, including 16 on steals, English ended Central's bid for a state championship repeat with a gate-to-wire 71-60 victory before about 4,000 fans in the Division 1 North title game at Tsongas Arena.

"Their athleticism one-through-nine was just to deal with, "We're not a great ballclub taking care of the basketball, but we're not as bad as we were tonight. It had a lot to do with their pressure defense.

"They made us play a hectic game, helter-skelter. They made us play sloippy."

Central, which finishes at 23-2 (the other loss was to American Heritage of Florida), never had the lead and pulled even just once, at 2-2.

"We really messed up in the first half, and that was so tough to overcome," said senior Billy Marsden.

Somehow, despite all the carelessness with the basketball and a money game from English junior Ryan Woumn, Central still managed to make things interesting.

Trailing by as many as 16 points in the third, the Raiders, behind Marsden - Who else? - electrified the faithful with a wild flurry in the fourth.

A Marsden three, from well behind the NBA arc, sliced it to five at 62-57 with 2:21 left.

"Billy get going in the second half, but we never got really comfortable," said Nault. "I thought we had something, I really did. I thought, 'could the magic happen one more time?' It just didn't work out that way.

Twice, the Raiders had the ball with a chance to make it a one possession game, and the came up with a turnover and a missed three-point try.

Marsden, attacked by two defenders every time he touched the ball, closed out his career with a team-high 24 points. Junior Carson Desrosiers added 15 points and nine rebounds and six blocks. No other Raider even approached double figures.

Woumn, the Northeastern Conference MVP as a junior, simply refused to let Central back in it. With Central turning the tide earlier in the fourth at 52-45, Woumn attacked the hoop and scored twice, over Desrosiers. His steal and layin at the four-minute mark was a killer, too.

"He showed why he's the captain of our team tonight," oozed English coach Buzzy Barton. "He's been doing it all year long. We spread the floor, and we know he can take anybody one on one."