New No. 1 Central Catholic in Globe boys basketball Top 20

January 09, 2012|By Seth Lakso, Globe Correspondent, Globe Staff

By Seth Lakso, Globe Correspondent

Stop if you’ve heard this one before, but Central Catholic has claimed the top spot in the first Top 20 of the new year for boys’ basketball. The Raiders are off to a 7-0 start, and coming off a 10 point win over rival Andover this past Friday.

Charlestown (4-1) falls to No. 2 after a loss to defensive-minded East Boston team on Dec. 20.

The defending Division 1 state champion Eagles (6-1) anchor the No. 3 spot, but after a 53-47 loss to BC High on Jan. 3, St. John’s Prep certainly has much to prove.

Two unbeatens in Stoughton (6-0) and Newton North (6-0) round out the top 5. The Globe North’s feature on the Tigers is a must read.

Acton-Boxboro jumps up eight spots to No. 7, and would have been higher if it weren’t for the clunker they put up against No. 18 Westford on Friday.

At No. 13 it’s safe to say we believe in Madison Park, which was previously unranked. The Cardinals (6-1) ability to play defense and bang down low make then a team no one should be exited to play.

In total, there are seven newcomers to this week’s Top 20 ( Weymouth 6-0, Madison Park 6-1, Oliver Ames 5-1, Boston Latin 8-1, Westford 8-2, North Andover 4-1, and Reading 6-1).

Teams to watch out for in next week's poll include: Andover, King Philip, and Danvers, which smoked a Keandre Stanton-less Lynn English by 30 on Friday.

See the full Globe boys’ basketball Top 20 here.