Lowell overcomes Cambridge in Div. 1 North boys basketball

WOBURN — Top-seeded and unbeaten Lowell was having trouble delivering the knockout blow to No. 5 Cambridge on Tuesday night.

In front of an electric standing-room-only crowd at Woburn High School, the Falcons seemed to have an answer for everything Lowell threw at them. Then, the Red Raiders turned to what has been their most potent weapon all season: relentless ball pressure.

The Red Raiders forced six straight Cambridge turnovers in the third quarter and nine in the frame and used that to propel them to a 61-48 victory in a Division 1 North boys basketball semifinal.

Cambridge took its only lead of the game, 34-32, on a pair of Solomon Hearn free throws with 5:25 left in the third. Lowell responded by turning up the intensity and turning over the Falcons.

“It’s our game plan every night to make teams run,” said Lowell head coach Bob Michalczyk. “We just wanted to keep running our sets and get good looks and make some shots.”

Lowell improved to 23-0 and will face No. 2 Lynn English in the North final on Saturday at the Tsongas Center. Cambridge finished at 18-5.

The Red Raiders got 16 points each from junior guard Jaceb McKenzie and senior guard Carlos Nunez. Senior guard Nate Siow added 15 points.

Cambridge senior 6-foot-5 center Khai Smith had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Falcons. But he was his team’s only player in double-figures.

Lowell held a slim 28-26 lead at the half. Even with Cambridge’s turnover issues in the third quarter, it trailed just 47-43 after three.

Red Raiders senior guard Ritchie Etienne banked a 40-footer just before the shot clock expired to put LHS up 50-43 with 6:40 remaining. The Lowell fans erupted and Cambridge was deflated. Siow and Nunez, who wreaked havoc all game on the Cambridge guards, had back-to-back steals and buckets to put Lowell up 56-44 with 3:58 left.

The two senior leaders and 1,000-plus-point scorers will now play in their first ever North final.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2x0RxGW