Five tournament moments to savor

“Guys, get it to me,’’ the 6-foot-11 senior told his teammates.

Ten seconds left. The Raiders set up a play to the low post. Jimmy Zenevitch controlled possession on the perimeter. He tossed the ball in to Desrosiers, who was immediately swarmed by three St. John’s defenders.

Five seconds left. Desrosiers gave a quick look inside, then turned outward, fading away as he threw up a shot that banked off the glass and in and Central hung on for a 56-55 thriller at the DCU Center in Worcester.

“For him to get a shot like that, it puts a perfect ending to an absolutely tremendous high school career,’’ Nault said.

Desrosiers’ final game numbers: 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks. During his time at Central Catholic, the Raiders won four consecutive Merrimack Valley Conference titles, three consecutive Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournaments, and two state championships.

“He’s absolutely the best player I’ve ever coached,’’ Nault said. “He’s probably the best player to ever come out of our area.’’

Desrosiers is headed to Wake Forest, where he will suit up for the Atlantic Coast Conference program. Nault believes he has a great chance to continue his sparkling career.

“He has that size and he can do so many things,’’ the coach said. “He’s going to need to get a little bit stronger . . . but I think he’s going to be very successful at that level.’’

Katie Zenevitch, the 6-foot-3 Boston College-bound senior, made a layup and drew a foul with less than two seconds left in the fourth quarter to keep Central alive. But sophomore guard Nicole Boudreau (25 points, 11 rebounds, 9 steals) did her usual thing for Andover, draining what Tildsley called an “NBA 3-pointer’’ in the opening minutes of the overtime period.

“For Nicole to hit that shot was absolutely huge,’’ the coach said. “They got the three-point-play with 1.9 seconds to go and they had all the momentum going into overtime.’’

Boudreau’s partner at the guard position, junior Natalie Gomez (25 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), drove to the lane and converted a layup with two minutes left — scoring her 1,000th career point in the process — to give Andover the North title, 69-65.

Andover then defeated Mansfield, 60-52, before sailing past East Longmeadow, 73-37, in the state final. “This was the perfect ending,’’ Tildsley said.

The three girls helped lead the Sachems to the Division 3 state semifinals and a 23-2 record their first season. Over their four-year career, Pentucket went 91-9.

But the ending was not quite what they had hoped.

Entering the Division 3 state final, the Sachems won every game by at least 10 points. But they were finally tested by the girls of Lee, falling 56-42.

With time winding down, McNamara, Viselli, and Jakobsons were replaced on the court. Fighting back tears, they hugged each other as they watched their title hopes slip away.

“They put Pentucket basketball on the map,’’ John McNamara said of his seniors. “Seventeen years since they made the state tournament. They’ve had an incredible run. They’ll appreciate it at some point.’’

One of the Red Raiders’ top reserves, senior forward Amanda Peters, knows her role: a 3-point threat to provide a spark with a few quick points. Coach Robert Ferrante drew up a play to get the ball to her.

Melrose executed the play and Peters did her job. Ferrante called the same play in the fourth quarter and Peters drained another three, quickly turning a one-point lead into a seven-point cushion. The Red Raiders held on to claim the North title, 67-54.

“That changed the game,’’ Ferrante said. “It was an obvious turning point and the spark that gave us the lead that stuck for the rest of the game.’’

Melrose lost to eventual state champ Oliver Ames in the semis, 60-46, but the season remained a memorable one for the team’s nine seniors.

“I think it’s going to be something that they can all look back on,’’ Ferrante said. “It was a fun ride. We loved every minute of it.’’

The Eagles trailed defending EMass champ Lynn English by seven points at the start of the fourth quarter. Then Sophomore Steve Haladyna took over, scoring 11 of his 28 points to lead the Eagles to a 79-78 victory.

St. John’s Prep lost in to Central Catholic, 74-62, in the North final. . But in Sean Connolly’s second season on the bench at Prep, he has established the program as one of the best in the area. The bonus: All five starters will return for the Eagles next season, including junior Pat Connaughton, arguably one of the best players in the state who averaged 24 points and 17 rebounds per game.

“I was very excited; we had a great year,’’ Connolly said. “We won our league and made it to the North finals — which St John’s Prep hasn’t done in about 30 years.’’

Jason Mastrodonato can be reached at jmastrodonato@globe.com