NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Central Catholic certainly wasn’t happy about its surprising, home-opening loss to Andover on Dec. 19. But the best part of that defeat, according to coach Mark Dunham?
They didn’t have to play a game the next day.
The preseason favorite in MIAA boys basketball, the Raiders had to wear that loss for more than a week. It may have been something of a blessing in disguise, a reminder that the path to reach their goal come March is not easy or guaranteed.
“We had to go through it,” Dunham said. “Those practices were hard. We were upset, we did it in front of our student body, and we had to get back to the basics and say guys, anybody can be beat on any given night.”
The time off allowed Central to regroup and reset, and as they licked their wounds, it maybe even formed some extra motivation heading into the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic, arguably the best holiday tournament in MIAA basketball. I was curious how the Raiders – No. 4 in our latest MIAA Top 10 – would respond from their early-season adversity, and they passed the test with flying colors.
Central beat two area rivals – Lawrence and Greater Lawrence Tech – in the first round and semifinals before knocking off No. 1-ranked Beverly, 76-62, on Tuesday night before a packed house at Merrimack College to claim the CMCC tournament championship. The Raiders did so convincingly with relentless defense and high-level transition efficiency, and another big game from star Javi Lopez, as they made an early statement on the dawn of the new year.
Here are 10 standouts and takeaways from Tuesday’s championship.
CMCC: Full boys scores from the marquee holiday tournament
Javi Lopez, Central Catholic
Class of 2026, 6-1 guard
Lopez left little doubt who the best player in MIAA boys basketball is, scoring a game-high 33 points as he was named MVP of the tournament. He set the tone with a whopping 17 points in the first quarter – even outscoring Beverly, which had 16 as a team in the opening frame – as he scored from all three levels. He hit several 3-pointers that were heavily contested, including one impressive pull-up from the wing after breaking down his defender with a series of crossovers. It almost looked too easy at times for Lopez, who balanced the deep ball with drives as he continuously just took what the defense gave him.
I also loved Lopez’s defensive activity, which included a steal on help coverage that led to a transition bucket as Central opened up a 14-point first-half lead. He also took a charge in the second half. Lopez was virtually unstoppable.
“For the most part, you’re not going to stop him,” Beverly coach Matt Karakoudas said. “Hopefully he stops himself. You can do whatever you want — a lot of the shots he hit were contested and they were just really difficult shots from a really good player. Sometimes there’s only so much you can do and then you try to get the ball out of his hands, which we did a better job of, and then other guys stepped up for them. That’s what makes a really good team.”
Tuesday’s championship performance was something that’s almost expected of Lopez. Dunham shared an emotional embrace with his star guard at the final buzzer, and they hope it’s not their last celebration this season.
“He’s our leader, the kids love him, he’s an amazing kid and I have the utmost confidence in him when he has the ball in his hands,” Dunham said. “He’s gonna make a play, whether it’s for his teammates or himself. He scores at all three levels, and he’s so coachable. That’s what makes him so special. You have a kid that is going to be the all-time leading scorer at Central Catholic (and) he has no ego. He allows me to coach him hard. I yell at him more than I probably yell at anybody, and he takes it. He’s just the ultimate high school player.”
Drew O’Keefe, Central Catholic
Class of 2027, 5-9 guard
A role player during his first two seasons at Central, O’Keefe has been entrusted with a bigger role as a primary ball-handler this season and he delivered in the title win, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the first half as he gave the Raiders a needed second scoring option. He scored on balanced drives, a smart cut for a wide-open layup and even made a bucket out of the post. He used his low center of gravity to his advantage, and he was patient and effective with his decision-making.
Elkin Pena, Central Catholic
Class of 2028, 6-3 guard
Pena was mostly responsible for putting away Beverly with a dominant 10-point second half that included several tough plays inside and on the glass. He made an array of impressive finishes, including a strong move from the baseline when he shielded defenders for space with his wide body to get a bucket, and another off-balanced finish through defenders in transition. He was the most athletic player on the floor, too, and used it to his advantage with several big boards.
“He missed those two free throws, then he missed a layup, I called a timeout and I just went over to him and I go, we’re going to win this game because of you,” Dunham said of Pena. “You’re not coming out. You have the utmost confidence from me, you’re going to win this game for us. He took it between the ears and he’s only a sophomore, so there are things I have to live with. It’s OK to make mistakes as long as you’re going hard, and no one goes harder than Elkin. You saw in the fourth quarter, he was dominant.”
Domenic Panniello-Torres, Beverly
Class of 2026, 6-2 guard
NCAA: Nichols
Panniello-Torres continued to make a big all-around impact for the Panthers as a high-level facilitator who has incredible court vision and instincts. I loved a hesitation dribble he made that allowed him to create space for a feed in transition, and he delivered a perfect bounce pass to a cutting teammate for a score later on. He’s a fearless driver to the rim who’s quick and fights and finishes through contact. He also made a really impressive block of Lopez on a 3-point attempt.
“Dom’s excellent,” Karakoudas said. “This is our first year with Dom and he’s the ultimate glue guy, he does a little bit of everything. He can score, he can defend, he can rebound, he leads us in assists and he brings a toughness and nice mentality to the team. I thought his compete level was right where it needed to be in this game.”
REWIND: Standouts from Beverly's semifinal victory over Andover
Jacob Klass, Beverly
Class of 2026, 6-0 guard
The senior guard scored a team-high 27 points as he heated up in the second half to give the Panthers a late chance. I thought he settled for some 3-pointers in different moments, but he eventually got himself going with backdoor cuts, offensive putbacks, tough finishes at the rim and eventually some better 3-point looks in rhythm.
Takeaways
1. It wouldn’t be a shock whatsoever to me if these two teams met again in the state tournament and maybe even the Division 1 championship game. They’re clearly two of the best teams in MIAA, both with deep, experienced and talented rosters. But this tournament – which also included Andover – was also a microcosm of how wide open the state is this winter.
“(Central is) the preseason No. 1 and then Andover knocked them off and then we knocked off Andover and then (Central) knocked us off,” Karakoudas said.” I think you’re going to see a lot of that this year maybe in Division 1 because I do think there’s a bunch of teams that can probably win it. That’s definitely one of them right there.”
2. Karakoudas admitted his group – as good as it is – still has some maturation to do after Tuesday’s loss that included several frustrating moments. But that’s the benefit of playing in a tournament like this at this stage of the season: to learn more about your team. It should benefit them come March.
“We definitely learned a lot in that game about ourselves,” Karakoudas said. “We have to do a little better dealing with serious adversity. It’s early in the season, so that will come, but that’s why you need these, to be battle-tested. This tournament is an absolute war. To get to the finals and win it, you have to win three serious battles. We got to two.”
3. Dunham said he didn’t have any worry about the Andover loss. Central lost that game by three despite having one of the worst offensive nights imaginable, a performance that included 20 missed 3-pointers, 10 missed free throws and 11 missed layups. The three games in this tournament painted a better picture of what the Raiders are, but he wants this group to keep improving.
“In the back of my mind I knew we were going to be OK,” Dunham said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a long year and I don’t want to be playing our best basketball right now. The goal is the end of February, into March. And our schedule should (help us) do that. We play Bergen Catholic out of New Jersey, the Comcast Tournament, BC High, and the league (Merrimack Valley Conference) is just brutally tough. We’ll keep grinding.”
4. Dunham made sure to praise senior co-captain Jeremiah Almanzar, who he believes doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Almanzar was named to the all-tournament team and his impact goes beyond the box score.
“What nobody really realizes is how important Jeremiah Almanzar is to our team,” Dunham said. “He does so many things that don’t show up in the stat line. He covers the other team’s best player. You can’t press him, he gets us into our actions.”
5. This was my second time covering the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic. Last season, I only attended the championship game, but I made the trek to Merrimack for at least a portion of all three days this year. I was really impressed with the crowds each day; even Saturday’s opening game between Beverly and St. John’s Prep drew a packed crowd inside Hammel Court, and the ensuing game between Greater Lawrence and Methuen attracted one of the best environments I’ve experienced at an MIAA game. The Merrimack Valley loves its hoops – for good reason, there’s a ton of talent up there – and they showed it. You couldn’t find an open seat for Tuesday’s title game. I’m excited to get to some more games north of Boston, which boasts several state title contenders.
