Bank on Lynn

Classic-al finish wins it

By Bruce Lerch / Boys Basketball | Monday, March 1, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

With a game on the line late, it’s all about getting the ball into the hands of your best player.

Lynn Classical did just that yesterday, finding Bentley-bound senior Jasper Grassa, who rewarded his teammates like he’s done throughout his stellar career.

After initially being denied the ball off an inbounds play, Grassa collected a pass from Carlo Buono just past half court and kissed a deep 3-pointer off the backboard at the buzzer to lift No. 8 Lynn Classical to a thrilling 58-55 victory against top-seeded North Andover in the Div. 2 North quarterfinals in North Andover.

“When I caught the ball there were 2.6 seconds left,” said Grassa, who ended up with a game-high 31 points. “I knew I had to do something quick with it. At first I thought it was long but then I thought, maybe backboard. It felt amazing when it dropped through.”

The Scarlet Knights (19-3) stormed back from a 43-28 deficit entering the fourth quarter thanks to center Alex Blane, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the final frame.

In the Div. 1 North quarterfinals, No. 1 Central Catholic picked apart the zone defense of No. 8 Andover in a 78-56 victory against its Merrimack Valley League rival in Lawrence.

The Golden Warriors (16-6) opened in a zone designed to take touches away from big men Carson Desrosiers and Jimmy Zenevitch, according to coach David Fazio. However, the Raiders (22-1) went 7-of-8 from 3-point range (9-of-14 overall) to open a 27-11 lead after one.

Michael Alvarez (16 points) led the way with 11 of Central’s first 17 points, knocking down 3-of-4 trey attempts. Luis Puello added two more 3’s, and back-to-back steals led to Desrosiers and Andrew Ouellette hoops, which capped a 16-2 run late in the quarter.

“Every game we played them there were two guys in double figures, same guys: Carson and Zenevitch,” Fazio said. “We said, you know what, no touches (for them). If the other three guys make shots, fine, we’ll make adjustments.”

Andover (16-6) went away from the zone in the second quarter, and Desrosiers (19 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks) went to work with the open lanes. He factored in all but one of Central’s seven field goals.

“Teams usually pack it in on us because word is on the street that we can’t shoot,” Desrosiers said. “Obviously we couldn’t have picked a better time to come out of the gates firing and making some shots.”

In a Div. 3 South quarterfinal, Michael Adams banked home a runner in the lane with 4.5 seconds left, locking up a thrilling 66-65 victory for No. 7 Bishop Feehan (17-5) against No. 2 Medway.

In the Div. 3 North quarterfinals, Antonio Reyes recorded 37 points (including the 1,000th of his career), 10 rebounds and five assists as No. 7 Salem rallied past No. 2 Masconomet, 74-71. . . . Richie Warren Jr.’s 23 points, eight assists and five steals led No. 4 Lynn Tech (14-6) past No. 12 South Boston, 67-63. . . . Chris Hamilton had 19 points as No. 1 Hamilton-Wenham (16-3) edged No. 9 Saugus, 62-61.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1236265