By Evan MacDonald, Globe Correspondent

NEWTON -- After losing to Bay State rival Newton North twice in the regular season, Needham was only 20 seconds from the ultimate revenge with a playoff victory. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Newton North's Geoffery Woodberry stepped in and spoiled the result.

A jumper by Kerry Hecker had given Needham a 39-38 lead with 25 seconds left, but Woodberry raced up court and converted a layup to help third-seeded and host Newton North to a 42-39 victory over sixth-seeded Needham in a Division 1 South quarterfinal.

Woodberry led the Tigers (19-4) with 16 points, while teammates Craig Marriro and Greg Kelley had 11 apiece.

Hecker led Needham (14-8) with 15 points.

"At this point in the season, it comes down to big-time players making plays," Newton North coach Paul Connolly said. "We have three of them in Marriro, Kelley and Woddberry."

The first half was a defensive chess match, with each team struggling to find the bottom of the net. Newton North made just six field goals, with Needham connecting on only four.

"We worked on our matchup zone and tried to keep it within two or three possessions," Needham coach Paul Liner said. "In a man-to-man we didn't match up very well."

Woodberry scored nine points in the third quarter to help push Newton North to a 33-26 lead, but Needham came back strong in the final frame. Baskets by Hecker, Bobby Ernst and Nate Allison pulled Needham within 33-32 with five minutes remaining.

The two teams traded baskets until the final buzzer, with Woodberry's layup and a free throw by Marriro providing the final margin in the low-scoring contest.

"We hadn't played a game in 13 days," Connolly said. "We didn't shoot well, but [Needham] had a lot to do with that."