Lawrence boys basketball
By: Jim Green
The Lawrence High School boys basketball team looks like a squad ready to make a push for a county championship.
The Cardinals opened the 2005 Mercer County Tournament with a strong 60-43 win over Nottingham on Monday night at LHS. It was the third consecutive win for Lawrence, which improved to 14-7 overall.
The sixth-seeded Cardinals were scheduled to visit Hightstown on Wednesday night in the tournament quarterfinals.
"This format might be three years old, and we’ve always been in the play-in game," Lawrence coach Pat Tarrant said. "This is our first year with a decent seed. This has been a very good year for our league. The other teams in the tournament, you can’t overlook them. We’d like to do well in the tournament. Hopefully, this experience will help us in a couple weeks in the state tournament."
Senior guard Randall Zapolski came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers for a team-high 12 points, while junior guard Chris Martine chipped in with 11. Senior forward Shamil Rodriguez had nine points, while junior center Brett Brackett added eight, senior point guard Matt Stein had seven, and senior guard Jamil Brown tallied six.
With Stein guiding their balanced attack, the Cardinals outscored the Northstars in every period, opening a 31-20 lead by halftime.
"We moved the ball well, got good shots, scored a lot of points off assists," Tarrant said. "Matt’s done a great job all year. We wouldn’t have had the season we’ve had without him."
With the Northstars focusing on shutting down Brackett and Stein, the Cardinals used their ball movement to find open perimeter shots for Zapolski, Brown and Martine.
"Their strategy was to take Matt and Brett out of the game," Tarrant said. "They left Randall open. He’s given us a spark in many games. He’s aggressive, a tough defender. And in the second half of the season, if he’s got his feet set, he’s been knocking them down."
Lawrence benefits from having a star in Brackett who will gladly swing the ball to open teammate rather than try to force the issue against a double team.
"He’s so unselfish," Tarrant said. "He drew a lot of attention and hit the open guys. He’s probably second to Matt in assists, and not by much."
Martine, who has emerged as a strong No. 2 option on offense this season, helped the Cardinals to victory with an all-around effort.
"Chris had good looks," Tarrant said. "He picked his defense up in the second half. He’s had a very good year. His defense has improved a lot. His play will be key for us in this tournament."
Rodriguez also continued to make huge contributions in support of Brackett on the frontline.
"He’s just a real positive force in the locker room, a real hard-working guy in practice, and he’s really played great defense since the start of the season," Tarrant said. "Offensively, people leave him on an island, and he’s going to score some points. He’s a strong offensive rebounder."
The Cardinals were expecting a battle with the Rams on Wednesday night. On Feb. 8, the Cardinals slipped past Hightstown 42-39 on a Brackett game-winning jump shot with 40 seconds left.
"It’s going to be a very tough, physical game," Tarrant said. "We have to come up there prepared to fight for 32 minutes.
"We’ve been getting good shots offensively, getting a lot of contributions from a lot of guys."
That depth could be the key to Lawrence’s hopes in both the county and state tournaments.
"Different guys have stepped in and made key contributions in all the games we’ve played," Tarrant said. "I can look at every player on my team, and there’s been some game where they’ve made a key contribution."