Graciano and Red Raiders run the devil out of Leominster Fitchburg

65 Leominster 53

Wednesday, January 7, 1998

By Jay Gearan
Correspondent

LEOMINSTER -- The won-loss records didn't matter. Neither did the hardwood history of the series. This was Fitchburg vs. Leominster, and Gio Graciano was nervous.
         “This was a big game and I was nervous. My shot wasn't falling,” said the Fitchburg guard.
         But before a packed crowd at Leominster High, Graciano and the Red Raiders erased an early deficit and remained unbeaten through seven games with a 65-53 victory last night over the Blue Devils (1-4).
         “I'm a starter this year and more is expected of me,” added Graciano, a junior who finished with 11 points and several steals as the Raiders exploited their quickness, athleticism and overall depth.
         “Beating Leominster is a big thing for us,” Graciano said.
         Leominster opened with tenacious defense and bolted to a 9-0 lead on drives by Antoine Mitchell and Jeff Haschig, plus a jumper by Jeff Dollar and Robert Kimungu's 3-pointer from the left wing.
         The Raiders regrouped quickly and began to feed the ball inside to 6-8 Keith Leavitt who paced Fitchburg with 18 points, including a couple down the stretch in the second half while he was wearing four fouls.
         It was 16-16 with 6:36 left in the first half, and the Raiders charged to a 14-4 run over the next three minutes thanks to Graciano loosening up and Tom Berjoan's seven straight points on his way to a 14-point night.
         By halftime, Fitchburg led 38-25.
         “We found out that we could run on them,” Graciano said. “Once we got the defensive rebounds, the transition game started flowing.”
         The Devils made a run to start the second half, closing to within seven at 42-35 as Dollar (11 points) and Haschig (12) scored.
         As the game clock ticked under 10 minutes, however, the Raiders pulled away for good.
         Said Fitchburg coach Doug Grutchfield, “Mark Gabriel (9 points) played a good floor game for us, and Leavitt, even with four fouls was a factor. Leominster played well. Ronnie (Leominster coach Ron Mazzaferro) has coached against us so long he knows what we're doing and he's got his kids very well prepared.”
         Jon Gauvin added 11 for Fitchburg. Mitchell, who had six points in the first half, finished with eight for the Devils.