NORTH ANDOVER — North Andover High coach Paul Tanglis noted correctly, “Any win in the Christmas Tournament is a good win.”
You get the feeling that Saturday night might be just a little better than good for whichever team prevails.
The third-seeded Scarlet Knights challenge top seed and three-time defending champ Lawrence High at 6 p.m., on the floor at Merrimack College’s Lawler Arena for what should be a dynamite Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic boys championship game.
It’s the monster matchup, one many could have predicted that certainly was no proverbial slam-dunk getting here.
Each prevailed and advanced in old-school Merrimack Valley Conference physical battles on Thursday night with Lawrence needing a perfectly-scripted last-second prayer three-pointer to survive Andover.
“You know, this is where we want to be,” said Lancer coach Jesus Moore, who is now a perfect 10-0 as a coach in the Christmas tourney.
The teams are meeting for the second time this year – already. The teams met back on Dec. 15, the Knights opener, with North Andover prevailing, 50-46.
“They out-physicaled us, they out-toughed us, got us out of our element,” said Moore, whose Lancers are 5-1 coming in. “We expected them to be good, even watching them (Thursday) night. They have guys who’ve been playing 2-3 years. They’re grown men, older guys who have been there and done it. They can push you around. Those kids, they’re united, they’ve seen it all.”
As wildly divergent as their styles may be – Lawrence is a lot more comfortable playing in the 80s than it is in the 50s – the two teams are also quite similar, starting with the guys who spend most of the time with the basketball in their hands.
For Lawrence, it’s Joendy Rosario, and for North Andover, it’s Zach Wolinski.
“Both are great players,” said Tanglis. “As coaches, you need guys like that. They have one, we have one. It should be a great matchup.”
The comparisons between the two teams don’t end there.
Each coach will liberally go to the bench, searching for the best combinations. and each has selfless, role-playing types at every turn – guys like the Knights’ Angel Sanchez and Zach Desrochers or Lawrence’s Adriel Vasquez and Aiden Torres.
“For us, we have a good rotation, and it’s a good problem to have,” said Tanglis. “For a coach, it’s always good to have tough decisions to make as to whom you are going to play.
“And Lawrence, to me, you just can’t wear down because of its depth.”
Up front, it’s a roast beef lover’s collision – Big vs. Beefy.
The Lancers’ length, guys like Igor Gonzalez at 6-foot-9, Francisco Santanna (6-6) and Courage Agbekpornu (6-5) have caused teams to have nightmares. North Andover’s muscle crew of Jake Saalfrank and Niko Catalano handled themselves pretty well in the previous meeting.
The Christmas tourney final has all the makings of a classic, one that might be a race to 50 or one to 80.
You just don’t know.
“Lawrence has the ability to score in bunches. They’re never out of the game,” said Tanglis. “You make a couple mistakes, and look up and it’s an eight or 10-nothing run.”
“I don’t know if we can wear that team down,” said Moore of the Knights. “They’re so poised, they don’t get rattled. We’re built to play the long game. It’s harder for us to win those games in the 40s right now.”
Time to get it on.