Burt and LaRosa Put on a Show, Zenevitch Has a Career NightFor the most part, what you see is in Massachusetts the basketball players are quicker and more athletic than they are in New Hampshire. There are more high fliers in Mass, with kids attacking the rim. But NH is known for having better shooters. And it makes sense. If you don't have the explosiveness to get to the rim then you have to be able to shoot the rock in order to score points. Tonight in Salem, this theory proved to be true.
The MA-NH High School Basketball Report saw Salem host Dover in a Class L showdown and it was raining three's. Alex Burt (#1 ranked NH Boy) had a game high 24 points (including three treys) to lead the Green Wave to a 61-56 win. Burt had one three that he drilled in the second quarter from seven feet behind the line - that's a 27 foot jump shot! For Salem, it was Alex LaRosa (#5 ranked NH Boy) who had the hot hand. LaRosa hit five three's (three in the 4th quarter) en route to a team-high 18 points.
In all, there were over 30 combined three point attempts by the two squads, and 17 of them were good. Another player worth noting was Dover senior Rory Duffy. Duffy had 19 points, including five three's on the game.
The story of the night though was Burt and LaRosa. It was a great match-up featuring not only two of the best shooters in NH, but also two of the state's best guards period. These two were the biggest breakout players in NH last year. After not seeing much action as freshmen or sophomores, they burst onto the scene last year as juniors. In one season they went from bench players to starters to all-state selections. And next year they could both be college basketball players.
The MA-NH High School Basketball Report also visited Central Catholic High School to see Andover take on Central Catholic in high school girls action while witnessing a few of our top rated players in action. It was our #1 rated Massachusetts senior Katie Zenevtich who proved her ranking by scoring 35 points and gathering 23 rebounds in Central's 55 - 53 victory over the Warriors in front of a packed crowd last night in Lawrence. It was a special night for Zenevtich who was honored prior to the game for being the leading point getter in Central Catholic girls history with over 1200 points. Zenevitch also tallied her 1,000 career rebound during the game.
Coming off a Christmas Tournament victory over Central, Andover started the game where they had left off jumping on the Raiders for an early 14 - 1 and then a 24 - 11 lead. However, Central fought back to close the lead before half time as the Raiders went on a 9 -0 run to cut the lead to 24 - 20 at the half. The second half was close the entire way with Zenevith making big shots time and time again including a huge three down the stretch. Gabie Polce (ranked #11 in the junior class) was exceptional this evening making big plays and running the show for the Raiders. For Andover, our #1 ranked junior Natalie Gomez did not have her best evening although she showed a variety of great moves as she may be the best around at creating space of the dribble. Our #1 ranked Sophomore Nicole Boudreau of Andover sprained her ankle in the first quarter but battle through it scoring 10 points (Boudreau netted 39 in the Christmas Tournament against Central).
In the end the game was decided by a questionable call that put Zenevitch on the free throw line. With 6 seconds left, Zenevtich was trapped beyond the three point line and appeared to be asking for a timeout when the whistle blew in the 53-53 game. The crowd was stunned to see that the call was a foul and that Zenevitch was not granted the timeout. Needless to say, Zenevitch, who was perfect all night long was perfect in nailing both ends of the one-on-one.
