Mission complete

Photo by Matthew West

By Dan Keats / Division 4 | Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

New Mission showed that expectations saddled on the Titans before the season of a state championship came with good reason.

Behind a dominating performance by 6-foot-8 senior center Ousmane Drame yesterday, New Mission rolled to the title with a 75-47 dismantling of defending champ Cathedral in the Div. 4 boys basketball state final at the Garden.

Drame had 24 points and 23 rebounds, recording a double-double in each half, and added in five blocks to make life miserable at both ends for the Panthers.

“This is everything we’ve been waiting for,” Drame said. “Last night, I told the guys it takes everybody and we’re as good as the worst until we’re better than the best. We always see Cathedral as the best. They’ve won the state championship so many times these last few years.

“We knew we were going to be here with Cathedral. We knew it was going to happen, so we were ready.”

Cathedral (19-6) entered the game having won three of the past four state titles and was within 29-26 with 2:17 left in the first half. The South champs took advantage of sloppy play by New Mission, which committed 12 turnovers in the second quarter compared to just one in the first, when they built a 26-13 lead. The Panthers, however, were hurt by free throw shooting, including 2-for-8 in the first half and 6-for-18 overall.

New Mission (23-1) closed the half with a 7-0 run as Drame converted a three-point play, Samir McDaniels (17 points) found Drame inside for an easy bucket, and McDaniels scored himself following an offensive rebound that pushed the lead to 36-26 at intermission.

The Titans put the game away with a 13-0 run to open the second half, capped by a steal and lay-in by Osmel Odena (14 points), the 20 straight points putting New Mission up 49-26. The Titans were ahead 59-35 after three.

“That was it,” Drame said. “After that we knew the game was basically over.”

With three starters back and a state title under their belt, the Titans are hoping to make the move up to Division 2.

“We probably won’t be in Division 4 next year, so we’ll see how much tougher it’s going to be,” said New Mission coach Cory McCarthy, who also led the school’s girls basketball team to a Div. 4 state championship in 2007 before taking the boys job two years ago. “I feel like this year we could have played in any division and been successful.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1238332