LAWRENCE, Mass. — Moments after Central Catholic’s huge win over rival Lowell on Friday night, head coach Mark Dunham stood outside his team’s locker room. With his assistants alongside him and his players waiting inside, he was ready to get the party started.
“We try to do these for the big ones,” Dunham said before he pushed open the door and walked inside, where the locker room erupted into a wild celebration that could be heard down the hallway at Memorial Gymnasium.
This was certainly no ordinary event, but Central Catholic’s 72-63 victory over Lowell – a game that lived up to the hype between two top five teams in our power rankings – passed the qualification for such a celebration. Led by junior captain Javi Lopez’s 25 points, the Raiders fought back from a double-digit second-half deficit to hand the Red Raiders their first loss this season in what could prove to be a critical game in the Merrimack Valley Conference title race this winter.
Central is now 10-2 overall with a 6-0 mark atop the MVC, while Lowell is 9-1 with a 7-1 league mark. Lopez said the Raiders entered the season with three goals: win the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic, win the MVC and win the Division 1 state championship. They came up short on the first goal, but after Friday’s win, the other two are well within reach.
“We're on the road to win the MVC now,” Lopez said. “It’s a great feeling. They were undefeated and we put that to an end.”
In a matchup of two high-paced, terrific backcourts, Central needed to dig deep for this victory. Led by Tzar Powell-Aparicio and Jason Kamau, Lowell briefly pulled away in a back-and-forth game to take a 10-point lead early in the third quarter. But the Raiders didn’t panic; they’re built for adversity, which they’ve shown early this season after fighting back from a 22-point deficit to nearly beat Andover and overcoming a 15-point deficit to beat North Andover.
“I said, ‘Guys, we’ve been here. That’s their run, let’s just slow it down,’” Dunham said.
Central once again responded. After struggling with Lowell’s zone, the Raiders started hitting shots. They out-toughed the visitors on the offensive glass and cut it to three entering the fourth, where they made all the big plays down the stretch.
“Just resiliency, that’s a big word for us,” Lopez said. “The guys have been resilient the whole year. We’re a resilient group. We go down, we come back up.”
Added Dunham: “A lot of people talk about what we don’t have and it’s size, but what people don’t talk about is how hard our guys play. We have a lot of skilled guards, we have guys playing out of position at times and they’ve bought into their role. … We’re galvanized and we’re buying into what we’re trying to do.”
Here are five standouts – and some quick shouts – from Friday’s game.
Javi Lopez, Central Catholic
Class of 2026, 6-2 guard
Lopez’s game-high 25 points may be a bit deceiving; he scored 10 points in the final five minutes, including eight points from the free-throw line as he sealed the game, but he wasn’t as dominant as he typically is. Lowell’s defense was tough on him, and he missed several shots at the rim. But he still managed to put constant pressure on the defense to get to the line, and he impacted the game in every way; he rebounded, he made plays for others, and most of all, he was active defensively. He had seven steals, and his final one was the biggest, when he swiped Kamau and took it the other way for a layup to put Central up six with about a minute to go.
"He's just a complete player, coming into his own, only a junior, obviously scores at all three levels, he’s rebounding the ball at a really high level right now,” Dunham said. “I think he’s a scholarship player, the sky’s the limit for that kid.”
Antonio Lopez, Central Catholic
Class of 2025, 5-10 guard
The senior captain makes this group of standouts not for any gaudy stat line, but his leadership and selflessness. Lopez did not play for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter because Central was playing so well and Dunham didn’t want to mess with the rhythm. And when he returned, he made a big impact. He grabbed a steal, and then made a big play with less than two minutes left. Leading by two, he got the ball beyond the 3-point line in the corner, ball-faked a shot and drove baseline before finding freshman Elkin Pena for two.
“The ball got swung to him and I said, ‘Stick it, stick it!’” Dunham said. “Ball fakes, goes and Elkin, who’s only a freshman, has really stepped up and ‘Tone has the trust in him to dump it down and Elkin makes the layup.”
Elkin Pena, Central Catholic
Class of 2028, 6-2 forward
The freshman, who also came up big in Central’s win over BC High a few weeks ago and has been big all season, once again was unfazed by the moment. He finished with 10 points, and had several of the Raiders’ 15 offensive rebounds. He scored on two putbacks to help complete the putback, and his aforementioned layup was huge.
“Elkin won us that game, if you want me to be honest with you,” Javi Lopez said.
Tzar Powell-Aparicio, Lowell
Class of 2025, 6-0 guard
The senior guard is one of the MIAA’s best, and he made no mistake on that claim Friday night. He scored 21 points, and he was a monster to start the third quarter, when he scored eight points in the opening minutes, including back-to-back plays when he had steals and breakaway buckets. The second one was a loud dunk, though it was unfortunately negated when he was whistled for a technical foul. But Powell-Aparicio’s impact was certainly felt; he was at ease with the ball in his hands, got to the bucket with high success, made easy plays for others and showcased a smooth mid-range jumper.
Jason Kamau, Lowell
Class of 2025, 5-10 guard
Lowell has one of the most exciting backcourts in the MIAA, and it’s not only because of Powell-Aparicio. Kamau is electric with the ball in his hands; he finished with 12 points and seven assists and put pressure on Central’s defense throughout the night with his quickness, change of direction and great reads. He hit a couple of early pull-up mid-range jumpers, which seemed to open up the floor for him and keep Central’s defense off-balanced. Kamau made a string of impressive plays, including one where he tight-roped the baseline against a crowd of defenders, but found space for a turnaround jumper. Kamau is really fun to watch, and certainly good enough to play at the collegiate level.
Quick shouts: Central sophomore Zachary Sangermand came up huge in the second half with three 3-pointers that played a critical role in the comeback, which included one that gave the Raiders the lead in the fourth quarter. … Central junior Jermiah Almanzar similarly made big plays down the stretch, including taking a charge early in the fourth and making a pair of buckets, including a go-ahead two with three minutes left. … Lowell sophomore Collin Christiansen was a huge boost inside; he finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, which included several putbacks. Lowell’s guards were doing a good job finding him underneath, sometimes wide open.
