Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament

Pinkerton, Central take different routes to semifinals
By Jeff Hamrick
sports@eagletribune.com The Eagle Tribune Sat Dec 24, 2011, 12:39 AM EST


LAWRENCE — If last night's quarterfinals were any indication, then Wednesday's second Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament semifinal between Pinkerton and Central Catholic will be an extreme contrast of styles.

The 7:45 p.m. semi showdown was set up when Pinkerton eked out a 43-40 victory over Andover while Central Catholic romped to a 76-35 win over Methuen.

"It doesn't get any easier," Central coach Rick Nault said. "We play against a tough Pinkerton team that plays physical. We have our challenge in front of us. They're a half-court team and wants to slow down the pace, and we definitely want to speed the tempo up. Hopefully, we can dictate the tempo early on. If not, we're going to play right into their hands."

In yesterday's third quarterfinal, Pinkerton did the dictating most of the game, leading by as many as 10 in the first half. But the Astros (2-0) still found themselves trailing by a point with 2:00 remaining.

Senior guards Kevin Colbert and Sean Smith, however, handled the flow on both ends of the court down the stretch. Colbert connected on an ugly 18-foot bank shot from the top of the key to give Pinkerton the lead before scoring a fastbreak layup off a steal by Chris Light with 1:42 left.

After he committed a pair of turnovers while Andover cut its deficit to one on a cutting layup by Sam Dowden, Colbert made a steal with 18.5 seconds left and Smith, who scored a game-high 15 points, made a pair of free throws to secure the victory with 6.3 seconds remaining.

"This was my first game back," Colbert said. "I've been out for a couple weeks (with a sprained ankle). We were trying to spread it and hold the ball, but they were trapping out there. I made a mistake and I lost it, but I made up for it."

Smith was joined in double figures by Alex Patrikis, who scored eight of his 12 points in the opening quarter, and Colbert, who had 10. Dowden led Andover with 13 points while Chris Dunn and James Costello each added eight.

"This actually means a lot," Colbert said. "We're from New Hampshire and most of (Massachusetts) looks at us as a joke. So this is huge for us. I know Central is good, but we're looking to beat them too. This is a big deal down here."

Pinkerton 43, Andover 40

Game 3 of Greater Lawrence Christmas Tourney (at Lawrence)

Pinkerton (43): Kevin Colbert 5 0-2 10, Sean Smith 6 2-2 15, Chris Light 1 2-2 4, Cam Welch 1 0-0 2, Alex Patrikis 6 0-0 12, Justin Sandberg 0 0-0 0, Scott Bradley 0 0-0 0, Luke Testa 0 0-0 0, Alex Pacocha 0 0-0 0. Totals 189 4-6 43

Andover (40): Reid Bryant 2 0-0 5, Chris Dunn 3 0-0 8, Greg Dreyfus 2 0-0 4, James Costello 3 1-2 8, Sam Dowden 6 1-4 13, Alex Brickman 1 0-0 2, John Pisacreta 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 2-6 40

3-pointers: P — Smith; A — Dunn 2, Bryant, Costello

December 26, 2011

Holiday Tournament Schedules
The Eagle Tribune Mon Dec 26, 2011, 12:32 AM EST


Boys Basketball

37th Greater Lawrence Boys Christmas Tournament

at Lawrence High School

Wednesday's Games

Game 5 (consolation) — Gr. Lawrence Tech vs. Salem, 2:30 p.m.; Game 6 (consolation) — Andover vs. Methuen, 4:15 p.m.; Game 7 (semifinal) — Lawrence vs. North Andover, 6 p.m.; Game 8 (semifinal) — Pinkerton vs. Central Catholic, 7:45 p.m.

Friday's Games

7th-place Game — Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6: 2:30 p.m.; 5th-place Game — Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6: 4:15 p.m.; 3rd-place Game — Loser of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8: 6 p.m.; Championship Game — Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 8 p.m.