BELMONT BOYS TAKE D-2 NORTH HOOP TITLE; MOVE ON TO TD GARDEN
By Jim Baldwin
Lowell, MA. 3/9/19. It looked like Belmont’s opponent in the Division 2 North finals, North Andover, had decided they would not let the Marauder’s hot shooting junior guard Mac Annus beat them.
Amazingly, Annus, he of the 12 three pointers in the semi-finals, had no good looks the entire game. None. He took just one shot from the floor.
The problem with Belmont, though, is that if opponents focus on one or two Marauders there are three or four others who are assassins.
And, while Annus was, “blanketed,” coach Adam Pritchard’s word, four of his teammates scored in double figures. Sophomore Preston Jackson-Stephens came off the bench to score a team high 18, co-captains Danny Yardemian and Ben Sseruwagi had 16 and 12 each and sophomore Tim Minicozzi added 11.
That quartet lead the top ranked Marauders to a satisfying, and rugged, 64-51 win over defending North champ North Andover at the Tsongas Center in Lowell Saturday afternoon.
2019 Mass Division 2 North Champs
“I don’t blame ‘em for focusing on Mac,” said Pritchard. “12 threes in a game will get your attention. But we have five very big offensive weapons, and I think that showed tonight. (Senior co-captain) Dan Seraderian made some big plays, and we’ve got some pretty special kids coming off the bench. Preston came in and made some big moves for us.”
After an unusually slow first quarter, which revealed a Scarlet Knight squad dedicated to physical defense—that would get worse as the game progressed—and a Belmont team that had eschewed their usual full court press, the two teams had combined for just 21 points with North Andover leading 11-10.
Belmont opened the second with the press, and it immediately sped the game up to the pace the Marauders prefer. Seraderian’s top of the circle three pointer with just under three minutes left staked Belmont to its biggest lead of the half, 28-17.
But North Andover, lead by senior co-captain Jake McElroy’s personal seven point spurt, part of his game high 21, buttressed a 12-2 run to close the deficit to 30-29 at the break.
The second half, though, belonged to Belmont. North Andover had just taken a one point lead at 34-33 when their senior center Garrett Murphy, 6’5” and wide, who had been giving Belmont fits in the low post, retired to the bench with his fourth foul. It seemed to energize the Marauders.
An acrobatic Yardemian lay-up kicked off a 16-5 Belmont run that was finished by five straight points from Minicozzi on a baseline drive and long three off a pass from Yardemian. The three caused a Richter Scale eruption from the Belmont fans and a desperate time out for Andover, as the game was slipping away at 49-39 with 1:15 left in the third.
The time out did not stem the tide. Right out of it, Jackson-Stephens scored six straight points, the last two a demoralizing tip-in at the quarter buzzer off a Minicozzi three pointer that had just rolled out. Belmont had extended the run to 22-5 and their lead to 16, 55-39 at the quarter’s end.
From that point things continued downhill for the Scarlet Knights. Their defense became desperate and too physical. Two starters, senior guard Darren Watson and Murphy, fouled out early and after a technical foul, the Belmont lead stretched to 20. With only four minutes left, matters were decided.
In addition to his 16 points Yardemian, the shortest man on the floor, collected seven rebounds, was a pest on defense and drew four charging calls, none of which were well received by North Andover.
“They got a little chippy,” said Yardemian, who was virtually tackled at one point. “But we held our composure. We made plays when we had to.”
Belmont now moves on to the Garden parquet Wednesday night at 7:15 in the Eastern Mass finals and a return engagement with Tech Boston, a team that edged them for the Comcast Tourney title a month ago.
“Yeah. We get Tech back. That’s exactly what we want,” said Yardemian.
“The Garden,” said Pritchard. “Sounds good to me.”