Central Catholic's defense derailed the defending Division 1 state champion last night.
The Raiders trailed by 13 points in the third quarter, but used a 32-9 run in the final 12:40 to bounce BC High, 54-44, in the EMass final at TD Banknorth Garden.
"I thought it was a sluggish first half for us a little bit offensively, and I thought our defense won the game in the second half," Raider coach Richard Nault said. "We changed to a zone [defense] during the [third quarter] and it got us back in the game. Down 2, we went to the man-to-man and I think that's what won us the game.
"I think by the end of the game, we were pretty fresh and they looked a little tired, and the man-to-man pressure caused that."
Back-to-back scores by sophomore center Carson Desrosiers and two free throws from by Tim Wheeler pulled the Raiders back within 23-20 late in the second quarter. But a 3-pointer from Colin Halpin and a jumper from Jake O'Brien with 24 seconds left pushed the Eagles' lead to 28-20 at halftime.
"The first half, I thought, was sensational," said BC High coach Bill Loughnane. "I think we sort of died in the second half and I think most of it was caused by Central Catholic. They really came out in the second half and took it to us."
The Raiders struck back with a 14-3 run during the third quarter after the Eagles had built their 13-point lead. Central trailed, 38-36, after three quarters, but took charge with an 11-0 spurt at the start of the fourth. Junior guard Billy Marsden had 8 in the run.
"We were hitting more shots and definitely, our defense helped out," said Marsden, who scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half. "That helped out our offense a lot, because in the first half, we couldn't hit anything. Then things just started falling in the second half."
After the Eagles' Ryan Sharry fouled out with six minutes to go, O'Brien ended the Raider surge with a jumper to bring BC High within 47-40. But Marsden cut through the Eagle defense on the next possession and finger-rolled it in to push the lead back to 9 with 3:22 to go.
The game was iced when backup guard Walson Constant drove from the 3-point line and was fouled as he went up for a layup. His free throw gave Central a 52-42 lead with 48 seconds left.
It was an emphatic ending to a thrilling win for Central, which has coped with the tragedy of reserve player Ryan Bourque's death over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Raiders will head to Worcester for Saturday's state final, looking to add to their trophy case.
"It's something I've been thinking about since I was young - a young kid," senior Adrian Gonzales said after scoring 10 points. "And now I have the opportunity to win a state championship."
