Titans take over

Move up two divisions, win another

By Brian Lowe / Division 2 Boys
Sunday, March 20, 2011

WORCESTER — From beginning to end, New Mission was in control of yesterday’s Division 2 state final, and the Titans’ 10-point margin of victory did not fully reflect their dominance over Northbridge at the DCU Center.

New Mission jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led by 17 at halftime on the way to a 67-57 triumph.

“It feels real good because, at the beginning of the year, we set the goal that we wanted to be here competing for a state championship,” said senior guard Darius Davis, who was part of last year’s Div. 4 state title team. “We knew we had to get the job done.”

And Davis, who led the Titans with 17 points, was at the forefront. He nailed a pair of long jumpers in the first three minutes, part of a hot-shooting start for New Mission, which also used its full-court press to frustrate Northbridge.

Samir McDaniels (16 points) scored on a spin move under the hoop to open the second quarter, putting the Titans ahead 18-8, and Leroy Hamilton followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing.

From that point, they led by more than 10 points until Harrison Murphy of Northbridge scored the game’s final basket with four seconds to play.

“Oddly enough, we had some good shooting, but the idea is really to get the ball inside,” New Mission coach Cory McCarthy said. “And once we got the ball inside, even if we missed, we would have the offensive rebound. That was the game plan from the time we scouted them on Wednesday.”

The success from the field forced Northbridge coach Paul Baker to alter his defense.

“We were hoping to play a sagging man-to-man, and that kind of went out the window when they started sticking jumpers from the outside,” Baker said. “And when they’re making shots from the outside, they’re tough.”

New Mission went ahead 44-24 with 4:22 left in the third quarter on a dunk by Isshiah Coleman following a Northbridge turnover. Kachi Nzerem sunk a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds to play in the quarter to put the Titans ahead 55-34.

New Mission forced 10 turnovers in the first half, several thanks to its press. McCarthy attributed that success to their attitude as well as their length.

“We just knew we had to come in and get a jump on them early,” McDaniels said. “This was our last game as high school students, as New Mission players. We wanted to go out with a bang, and that’s what we did.”

Brockton edges Westie in OT in D1 South

By Ryan Kilian (ESPN Boston)

BOSTON -- It was only fitting that Thursday night’s first round tournament game between West Roxbury and Brockton would end in overtime. Neither team could mount any type of substantial run until Brockton executed on both ends of the floor in overtime and pulled away with the 76-72 victory.

“There were times when they looked like they were going to put us away and there were times when we looked like we were going to put them away,” Brockton head coach Bob Boen said. “Neither team gave in.”

Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm out of the gate. The game would go back and forth, with each team causing chaos in the full court leading to numerous turnovers, layups and fouls on the other end.

West Roxbury senior forward Jason Hall was everywhere early. Hall scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots in the opening quarter giving West Roxbury a, 18-15, lead.

Each time one team looked to get rolling the other team would steal back the momentum, leading to a 32-32 halftime draw.
Brockton (14-7) came out with some fire in the third as senior Shane Sims (13 points) slammed home an inbounds pass to bring the crowd to their feet. Brockton also went to an effective zone that shut down Westie’s slashing attack. Sims scored five points in the quarter and senior Carl Joseph (14 points) sank two huge three-pointers to give the Boxers a, 53-47, lead heading into the final quarter.

The Raiders (15-7) battled back in the fourth behind Hall (14 points) and freshman guard Damion Smith, who scored all nine of his points in the final quarter. Westie a 66-63, lead with under a minute remaining but Brockton junior Jamal Reuben came up with a the answer on a big hoop to cut the lead to one. With under 20 seconds remaining freshman point guard Jonathan Joseph got a steal at midcourt and passed it up ahead to Sims, who was fouled on the play. Sims would make one free throw and Brockton’s defense would hold to send the game into overtime.

In overtime Brockton’s Reuben, Sims and Alain Lenord all scored, as the Boxer defense held strong to pull out the victory.

“The seniors came through in overtime for us,” Boen said. “Shane Sims and Alain Lenord stepped up and the seniors made the difference in the game. We were here last year going to the South finals and a lot of these guys were important players for us.”

“We came into the game underdogs,” Sims said. “We wanted to prove everybody wrong that we were not the underdog team. Our seniors kept our heads and that helped us get the win today.”

Brockton will take on a familiar foe in the next round when they travel to New Bedford, on Saturday at 7 p.m., to take on the Whalers in the rubber match between the two Big 3 rivals.

Mission begins a-New

Titans start 1st trek in Div. 2 with win
By Dan Keats / Basketball | Friday, March 4, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

After conquering Division 4 a year ago, New Mission gave itself a new mission to conquer bigger fish on the hardwood.

The No.  2-seeded Titans passed their first test in Div.  2 North with flying colors last night, routing No.  15 Reading, 61-43, at the Reggie Lewis Center.

After being assessed a technical for dunking in pregame warmups, Kachi Nzerem made up for the mental mistake by matching the Rockets’ first-half offensive output with 14 points. He finished with 20 points, while Samir McDaniels added 15 to go along with nine rebounds. Nzerem opened up the Rockets zone defense to get a number of layups and second-chance buckets.

New Mission (17-4) will face No. 10 Lynn Classical in a sectional quarterfinal on Sunday.

“I was happy with our defense tonight; to hold a good team like that to 43 points, it was good,” said Titans coach Cory McCarthy. “We dominated from start to finish and that’s what I wanted to do.”

The Titans led 21-10 after one quarter and then held Reading (10-11) to just four points in the second for a 34-14 halftime advantage. The lead got as high as 30 at 59-29 with 5:05 left in the game when Leroy Hamilton buried a 3-pointer in the corner, one of eight in the contest for a team that McCarthy considers to only have one true outside shooter in Nzerem, who hit five of the team’s eight.

Jerry Ellis-Williams led Reading with 19 points.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1320934

Cambridge out

Lawrence pulls off stunner in first round
By Adam Kurkjian / Boys Basketball | Saturday, March 5, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

The biggest shake-up of last night’s tournament action came in the Division 1 North sectional, where visiting Lawrence stunned No. 2 Cambridge, 82-78, in a first-round contest.

The No. 15 Lancers (14-8) were led by standout guard Jaylen Alicea, who recorded a triple-double with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

“Jaylen did a lot, and we needed him to, but a lot of other players came out and played a great supporting role,” Lawrence coach Paul Neal said.

One of those players was Jessy Hiraldo, who played less than a quarter because of foul trouble but still managed 14 points and 10 rebounds and helped the Lancers handle the length and athleticism of the Falcons in the post.

“(Hiraldo) gave us some good minutes, and then after that it was really just a good team win,” Neal said.

Cambridge (19-2) led at the half, 44-41, and extended the lead to 11 points in the third quarter. The Lancers came storming back to take an 11-point lead of their own in the fourth.

Cambridge made a late run at the lead, but Alicea (15-of-19 free throws) hit 11-of-13 from the line in the quarter to seal the win.

Lawrence will face No. 7 Westford Academy in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

In the Div. 4 South quarterfinals, Cohasset coach Bo Ruggiero feels his team’s strength is its “spunk.”

“It’s all coming from energy,” he said.

That energy, in the form of a jump ball, turned out to be the difference for the No. 3 Skippers, who held off South Shore League rival and sixth-seeded Mashpee, 54-51, in Cohasset.

With Cohasset (20-2) clinging to a one-point lead, Mashpee’s Zak Orcutt missed a jumper with less than five seconds to go. The Skippers, who made 10 steals, were able to tie the ball up near midcourt, and the possession arrow went their way. After Mashpee fouled Sam Richardson (22 points) with 1.4 seconds left, the Cohasset senior calmly sank both.

“We had to make a stop and the ball was on the floor,” Richardson said. “We all just went on it and we got it.”

Richardson and junior Kyrel Jaundoo (six points, eight rebounds, five steals, two blocks) sparked an early 12-0 run.

But the Falcons (18-4), who split the regular-season series with Cohasset, rallied behind Nico Hendricks, whose 10 first-half points allowed his team to slice the deficit to 28-25 by the break. Then free throws did it for Cohasset.

In Div. 4 South action, Kyle Lawyer led No. 5 Cathedral (19-3) with 26 points in a 76-51 win against No. 4 Westport. Joe Greene added 17 points for the Panthers. . . .

No. 5 Winthrop (15-6), behind 19 points from Michael Griffin and 18 points from Quinton Dale, knocked off No. 4 Mystic Valley in a Div. 4 North quarterfinal.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1321159

Focus lands on Madison Park

New film follows basketball team

Film Trailer: http://vimeo.com/18521014

Flash back to four years ago. Coach Dennis Wilson and the 19-0 Madison Park Cardinals are destined for basketball greatness. The team is the top seed heading into the state tournament, but a slew of interior problems are festering and dissolving the team chemistry.

“Every week, there was always something going on,’’ Wilson said. “One of my players’ mothers was beaten up by a boyfriend who was an ex-boxer. There were constant social problems — whether they would be stemming from the community, a friend, or a cousin. And neighbors were shot and stabbed.’’

The biggest problem involved captain Raheem “Radio’’ Singleton and Malik Smith, who represented rivalry neighborhoods — the Heath Street and Academy project homes. Each party felt the other was getting too much publicity, which resulted in the selfish play of two star athletes and compromised the strength of the team.

Meanwhile, Boston-area filmmaker Rudy Hypolite, who was captivated by Wilson’s relationship with the athletes behind the scenes, captured the roller coaster season that ultimately fell short of its goal and turned it into a documentary, “Push: Madison versus Madison.’’

“The team was No. 1 and was a great team — very talented,’’ said Hypolite, who has known Wilson for nearly two decades. “In my mind, I said, ‘Wow, I’d love to capture that journey whether they go all the way or not. Dennis is also a history teacher, so I wanted to capture the sense of what was happening in the school system. It was a great way of telling the story about the challenges that teachers and these kids deal with, the backgrounds they come from.’’

The documentary was one of 100 films selected from 2,500 entries to air at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, Calif., which begins tomorrow and runs through March 13.

Hypolite praised his supporting cast, including cinematographer Mike Pecci, writer Ian McFarland, and musician Malik Williams, who developed a soundtrack solely for the film.

The 25-year coach said that the purpose of the documentary wasn’t just to capture the struggles at Madison Park, but to show troubled athletes across the country that they can make it, and to not give up.

Wilson hopes that players will end up like Singleton, who is now the starting point guard at the University of Maine.

“I want to inspire coaches like myself, teachers like myself, and kids that are going through what my kids are going through, that they can make it,’’ said Wilson, whose current team opens tournament play Thursday against Franklin. “You got to be strong and you got to persevere. Is everyone going to make it? No, and that’s the sad reality. But if the word gets out, the kid who’s thinking about giving up won’t give up, because he knows I can make it like [Singleton].’’

However, it’s not just the success on the court that motivates Wilson to help students. He also sees himself as a mentor and a resource to students who look up to him in a time of need.

But even with the success of some athletes, Hypolite and Wilson believe it is not enough. Hypolite said that the purpose of the documentary is to reach out to the inner cities and help restore values, morals, and an appreciation for life.

“Outside of [the success], do we keep leaving the system like it is?’’ Hypolite said. “Life isn’t valued anymore. And even with someone like Dennis, who’s a mentor and a father figure, it’s not enough — the neighborhoods have changed. There are no programs like math teams and book clubs to help these kids, and that makes it so much harder to combat these circumstances.

“We want this documentary to serve as an insight to the inner city, and show that something needs to be done.’’

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

Eye-opening MP basketball documentary

Push Madison V Madison Trailer from Rudy Hypolite on Vimeo.

By Dan Ventura | Monday, February 28, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Other High School

Dennis Wilson and Rudy Hypolite didn’t set out to become the next Steven Spielbergs of the movie world.

Their goal was simple — open people’s eyes to the everyday challenges facing inner-city students.

The two spent more than three years working on a documentary featuring the Madison Park boys basketball program. The 90-minute film, called “Push: Madison versus Madison,” recently was accepted by the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose and will be shown three times in early March.

A sneak preview can be found on their website, www.pushmadison.com.

“We’re so excited that we were one of the few selected,” said Wilson, the Madison Park coach. “Our goal is for someone like ESPN, HBO or Showtime to see the movie, pick it up and show it nationally.”

Push Madison V Madison Trailer from Rudy Hypolite on Vimeo.

The genesis of the documentary came about shortly after the 2005-06 season, one in which a youthful Cardinals team advanced to the Division 1 South sectional final. With the bulk of the squad returning the following season, Hypolite approached his good friend Wilson and suggested combining forces on a documentary following the 2006-07 team.

“Dennis and I worked together on his sports show on cable access, so we would always talk about the challenges he faced in dealing with players,” said Hypolite. “I knew they were ranked No. 1 in the preseason, so I asked Dennis about following the team and he said, ‘Let’s go for it.’ ”

Much of the film focuses on the ’06-07 season, one in which Madison Park went through the regular season undefeated. While things looked good on the surface, the film displays the daily battles Wilson faced in keeping the train on the right track.

The petty issues reared their ugly head in the sectional semifinals, when Madison Park was stunned by Braintree. To this day, it pains Wilson to talk about a golden opportunity wasted away for selfish reasons.

“I will never forget seeing the blue and white of Braintree celebrating after that game,” said Wilson. “We had cut down 30 hours of film into 90 minutes and what happened in that game was one of the toughest things I had to see.

“I know Radio (star point guard Raheem Singleton) was very bitter, feeling we didn’t do enough to stop the selfish attitudes. I think when he sees the film, he’ll see I tried to do everything possible to address it.”

The film also takes a look at the senseless murders of two of Wilson’s most successful student-athletes, Lloyd Industrious and Errol Morrison. While Wilson tries to keep their memories alive, he wonders whether the newer generation fully grasps what transpired to Industrious and Morrison.

“Unfortunately, many of the young kids we deal with have already dealt with a friend or relative having been murdered,” said Wilson. “I just hope they understand what special young men Lloyd and Errol were, but I am not so sure that they always do.

“Young people nowadays tend to devalue their life and not value the life of others. Too many times, they just don’t value life enough and that’s sick. That has to stop.”

The movie closes with footage from the 2009-10 season. Many of those seniors were freshmen on the ’06-07 team and Wilson constantly leaned on them to avoid the pratfalls which derailed that squad.

With seniors Spencer Brathwaite and David Campbell leading the way, the Cardinals captured the Boston City League title, went on to win the Div. 1 South sectional championship, before falling to Central Catholic at the Garden.

“They saw firsthand what happened when you don’t play as a team,” Wilson said. “We kept telling them the 2007 team was a more talented team, but you are a better team.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1319837