By Jim Clark
FITCHBURG -- Kenny Robbins and the Marlboro boy's basketball team were looking for a Twin City sweep in the Central Mass. Tournament, but Fitchburg High would have none of it. The Red Raiders used a 17-0 run to take control of the game early, and held off several Marlboro comeback attempts to roll to an 88-71 win Friday night in a Division 1 quarterfinal at the Academy Street Brickyard.
Fitchburg (20-1) faces Burncoat in a semifinal contest sunday at 3p.m. at WPU. The Red Raiders were coming off a nine-day break, but weren't lacking for playoff intensity against the charged-up Panthers (11-11) who had edged Leominster in a first round game two nights earlier.
"That was quite a game," said FHS coach Doug Grutchfield, who got upset at some physical play with 1:50 to play and drew a technical for arguing with Marlboro coach Tom Lamber (he was also "tee-d up").
By that point, Fitchburg had finally put the game away. After the big opening run, Marlboro never got any closer than eight points, but never allowed the Red Raiders to run away and hide. "You've got to give them credit. They hung in there and worked hard the whole game," Grutchfield said.
Crucial to Marlboro's hopes was the play of Robbins, who came alive midway through the first half and single-handedly kept the Panthers (11-11) in the game. But the Raiders had too many weapons, as Ricky Morales led the way with 27 points while Dan Schneider added 16 and Kevin Keenan 14. All five starters were in double figures, with Tito Morales adding 12 and Ray Gonzales 11.
Trailing 4-2 early, Fitchburg then took off as Ricky Morales had a pair of hoops and a three point play after a steal. Gonzales and Keenan added five ponts each during the run, both hitting three-pointers to give the Raiders some quick breathing room.
"That first half (Robbins) was unstoppable," Grutchfield said, "but it was all himself. He was going 1-on-2, 1-on-3. Give him credit, he played a heck of a game."
"Kenny had a great game, but we noticed he was a little tired," Morales said.
Morales had 16 points himself at the half, despite having to put up with Marlboro's harrassing defense. "The beginning wasn't that physical, but they started elbowing me in the face, scratching, grabbing," Morales said. "It just got kind of out of hand."
They were playing a box-and-chase on Ricky, but Dan Schneider played a good game, and Tito played well," Grutchfield said.
It was Schneider who helped the Raiders break away again at the start of the second half, converting a pair of inside hoops on feeds from Ricky Morales and Gonzales. A three-point play from Morales on a dish from Keenan (7 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 steals) pushed the lead to 55-40 with 14:24 left, and the lead peaked at 71-50 on a Schneider follow with 8:11 to go.
Robbins wasn't as much of a factor in the second half, and while Brian Williams (16 points, 14 boards) and Ryan Ankstitus (15 points) tried to help, it wasn't enough.