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Reggies upset Chelsea

If only the start matched the finish.

Challenged by the absence of crucial players, Greater Lawrence struggled out of the gate. Now a fully functioning unit gaining experience working together, the Reggies are finally showing the Commonwealth Conference their high level of talent.

The latest to learn the hard lesson was Chelsea, who saw its unbeaten league record disappear in a 66-64 loss last night.

"Right now we're playing our best basketball of the season," said Greater Lawrence head coach Dan Habib of his 6-11 squad, 6-7 in the CAC. "Unfortunately, it's too little, too late to make the state tourney."

Junior forward Donald Celestin continued his stellar play with a game-high 36 points including four 3-pointers, helping turn around a team that lost its first encounter with Chelsea (17-3, 13-1 CAC), and without Celestin, by 21 points.

"Having Donald made a difference," Habib explained, "and we switched from a man defense to a zone the whole game and that kept us out of foul trouble. Defensively, we really stepped it up a notch."

Danny Montanez was a key player, coming off the bench to spark Greater Lawrence's defense.

Habib's adjustments also helped keep 6-5 senior Francisco Reyes on the court and active on the backboards, limiting Chelsea's possessions and providing the Reggies an imposing inside presence as well as 13 points.

Celestin and Reyes combined for the game-winning play after Chelsea crept back from a five-point deficit to tie the contest with 18 seconds left.

Avoiding a turnover, the pair ran a halfcourt give-and-go which sprung Celestin for a layup with three seconds left. After a Chelsea timeout, Greater Lawrence intercepted the inbounds pass to steal the win.