Fearless freshman Castro lifts Milton
Rene Castro couldn't help but stand out.
The Milton guard sported his favorite black and yellow sneakers in a sea of red and white. And as a freshman, he received a few jabs for wearing his junior varsity uniform.
But it wasn't Castro's attire last night that made fans at TD Banknorth Garden take notice -- it was his performance.
With 18 seconds remaining, Milton trailed Woburn, 69-68, in the EMass Division 2 boys' basketball final, and Castro ended up with the ball. He attacked the basket.
"I spun left and I went back in and faded and threw a one-handed shot," Castro said.
And he made it, giving the Wildcats a 1-point lead with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Woburn (17-7) had a chance to retaliate, but a clutch steal by senior guard Gabe Blanchette destroyed any hope of a comeback, giving Milton (21-4) a 70-69 victory.
"I think I just wanted to [get] a win for the seniors, because it's their last year," said Castro, who scored a team-high 23 points. "I'm a freshman, so I really tried to get the victory just for them. This is my dream, to hit a buzzer-beater in the Boston Garden."
Milton coach Sean Lopresti wasn't concerned when he saw Castro, who has been playing varsity full time for only about eight games, attempting the deciding shot.
"I think the way we work our system is anyone has free rein," Lopresti said. "We look for the mismatch, and when we go to our four-guard look . . . if you can beat your man and you're feeling it or you're the hot guy that certain time, we try to get that guy the ball. Tonight it was Rene at the end of the game, and that was the difference."
In the beginning, Woburn was led by senior forward Hanell Velez, who notched 16 of his game-high 33 points in the first half as the Tanners took a 33-28 lead into the break. But Milton didn't panic.
"We knew [Velez] was going to get their points," Lopresti said. "We kept telling them in the huddle, 'Relax, relax, composure.' "
And Lopresti knew the Tanners couldn't sustain their energy the entire game.
"They're going to break down, they're going to hit a wall," Lopresti told his team in the locker room. "Around six minutes left in the fourth quarter, where we started playing a little bit harder, a little bit better, they were a little tired, and we kept getting to the rim, and that was the difference."
