Diaz nets 26, lifts Central over Bishop Guertin, 66-55

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    MANCHESTER, NH – Izzy Diaz poured in 26 points, helping Central keep its slim playoff hopes alive with a critical 66-55 win over Bishop Guertin, Tuesday night.

    Diaz scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, going 9 of 10 from the free throw line, as the Little Green held off a furious rally by the Cardinals (4-10).

    Central (4-8), winners of three of its last five, has back-to-back wins for the first time this season and is playing its best basketball at just the right time.

    “Every coach wants their team to be playing its best basketball toward the end of the year. I’ve been pleased, so far, the players have really galvanized around really trying to get us to the playoffs,” said Central Head Coach Sudi Lett.

    While Diaz was the only Central player in double-figures, the Little Green got contributions from nearly its entire roster. Nine different players scored points, five had at least six points each and five had at least one 3-pointer. Yorrie Abrahams had nine points and Sean Venator added seven.

    Central (4-8) got off to a fast start, building an 11-point lead (19-8) after one quarter. The advantage would balloon to 44-26 after three quarters and that cushion would prove necessary. Bishop Guertin suddenly found its shooting touch in the fourth quarter, exploding for 29 points and creeping to within seven points at one point.

    Jeramiah Figaro led the Cardinals with 12 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Matt Chau added 10.

    Through the first three quarters, Central showed off an iron-clad defense, allowing forcing Bishop Guertin into more turnovers (15) than made field goals (10). Venator and Diaz controlled the paint and denied the Cardinals second-chance opportunities.

    Leading 34-26, Central closed the third quarter on a 10-0 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Abrahams and Wesley Omeda.

    But Bishop Guertin, itself fighting to stay alive for a post-season berth, caught fire in the fourth quarter, creating a few anxious moments for fans of the Little Green. Logan Lowney drilled a 3-pointer, then  stole the inbounds pass for an easy layup to cap an 8-0 run, pulling the Cardinals to within 49-40 with 4:30 left to play.

    A strong put-back by Venator and free throws from Diaz helped stop the bleeding but the Cardinals kept coming. Figaro scored in the paint and later added a three-point play, cutting the Central lead to 54-47 with just under three minutes remaining.

    “We don’t want to overreact to those threes (by BG). We don’t want to rush and feel like we have to do anything differently,” said Lett. “We had a really good game plan, we want to stick with our game plan. Losing as much as we have this year, we haven’t been in many situations where we can learn how to win. So learning how to win is super important, as we continue on in the season.”

    With the game, and perhaps the season, on the line, Lett looked to his veterans to close out the win. Diaz and Venator made key free throws down the stretch and Kaedin Gagne finished a press break with a layup to put the game away.

    With six games remaining in the regular season, Central will likely need a minimum of four more wins (possibly five) to make the Division I State Tournament. The good news is the Little Green still have Concord (1-10) and Timberlane (0-13) still to play. The “less good” news is, Central has to travel across town Friday night for a date with 4th-placeTrinity (9-4). The Pioneers are winners of six of their last seven.

    “We have a big game Friday. It’s a city game and everyone looks forward to playing in those games. They’re a good team. We’ll see what happens,” said Lett.

    Central’s remaining schedule, also includes games against 3rd-place Nashua North (10-4), Londonderry (5-7) and Spaulding (5-9).

     

     

    Header photo by Stonewall Photography