By Bruce Lerch / Division 2 | Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
If someone had told Paul Lundberg beforehand that Falmouth would score just four points in the first quarter of the Division 2 boys basketball state semifinal and still win the game, the Clippers coach would never have believed it.
But that’s exactly what happened last night.
Falmouth recovered from the poor start to win, 62-55, at the Garden and send Salem crashing back to Earth.
The Clippers overcame the first-quarter loss of floor general D.K. Johnson (ankle) and used a monstrous third quarter by John Lavin to secure the victory.
“It’s just a weird feeling, scoring four points and coming out with a win at the Garden,” said Lundberg of the comeback in Falmouth’s first semifinal appearance since 1963. “And not having your point guard, your leader out there. For us to pull it out, the kids believed in themselves.”
After an abysmal first half for both teams, Lavin took over the game in the third. Consistently flashing to the middle of Salem’s 1-2-2 zone, the 6-foot-5 junior scored 16 of his 25 points as the Clippers (20-5) emerged from the break with a 12-2 run that opened up a 26-22 lead. Lavin also pulled down 17 rebounds in a double-double effort.
“I think we just started off slow. Our shots weren’t falling, and we made stupid turnovers,” Lavin said. “We told ourselves it’s just a basketball game - five players against five players. I knew I had to get to the middle. They were playing the 1-2-2 and I just started flashing and getting the passes.”
Stepping in at point guard for the injured Johnson was 5-7 freshman Andrew McGill, who did a terrific job of feeding Lavin and senior Nelson Baptiste (25 points). McGill also held on to the ball well under pressure from the Witches (18-7).
Baptiste hit 10-of-12 free throw attempts in the fourth as Falmouth kept Salem at arm’s length.
“I’m not sure if it was a combination of wearing down and missed assignments,” Witches coach Tommy Doyle said, “but we just didn’t do the job defensively in the second half that we needed to do to win this game.”
Junior Antonio Reyes led Salem with 22 points.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1238330
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Wareham two good
By Mike Del Rosso / Division 3 | Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
Wareham fired on all cylinders to blast past Bedford, 63-49, in last night’s Division 3 state semifinal at the Garden.
Guards Jordan Rezendes and Jules Tavares were the catalysts, providing the game-changing moment when they connected on an alley-oop in the third quarter. Rezendes threw the lob, and Tavares finished.
“(Tavares and I) try to get the alley in every game,” said Rezendes, who had 20 points and four rebounds.
Early in the first quarter, Rezendes found himself with two fouls and took a seat. Tavares (16 points, five rebounds) and forward Patrick Murphy (10 rebounds) also got in foul trouble while helping to build a 10-point lead. But center Ryan Pina (22 rebounds) and others from the bench came up big.
“The bench came in and we were able to maintain that 10-point cushion, even with the three starters sitting,” Wareham coach Kevin Brogioli said. “That was a big point of that game.”
Ahead by just a point at 15-14, the Vikings were struggling to put up big numbers on offense, but the defense was solid. Wareham held Bedford (17-7) to a season low in points.
“People always assume because we’re one of the highest-scoring teams in the state, we don’t play defense,” Brogioli said. “We play defense.”
Rebounding from an offensive lull, Wareham (24-1) went on a 12-point run in the second half with Rezendes back in the mix. Bedford’s Michael Thorsen, who was 0-for-4 behind the arc at that point, drained a trey with two minutes to go, and also drew two fouls from the Vikings to add two more points and bring the Buccaneers within 36-26 at the half.
In the opening seconds of the second half, Kevin Cangiano (nine points) stuck a 3-pointer to cut Wareham’s lead to seven points. Wareham played a little back on its heels early in the third, but the notorious Rezendes-to-Tavares alley-oop swung the momentum back to the Vikings, where it stayed until the end.
Point guard Michael Ingram-Rubin had a game-high 21 points for Bedford.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1238331
Wareham fired on all cylinders to blast past Bedford, 63-49, in last night’s Division 3 state semifinal at the Garden.
Guards Jordan Rezendes and Jules Tavares were the catalysts, providing the game-changing moment when they connected on an alley-oop in the third quarter. Rezendes threw the lob, and Tavares finished.
“(Tavares and I) try to get the alley in every game,” said Rezendes, who had 20 points and four rebounds.
Early in the first quarter, Rezendes found himself with two fouls and took a seat. Tavares (16 points, five rebounds) and forward Patrick Murphy (10 rebounds) also got in foul trouble while helping to build a 10-point lead. But center Ryan Pina (22 rebounds) and others from the bench came up big.
“The bench came in and we were able to maintain that 10-point cushion, even with the three starters sitting,” Wareham coach Kevin Brogioli said. “That was a big point of that game.”
Ahead by just a point at 15-14, the Vikings were struggling to put up big numbers on offense, but the defense was solid. Wareham held Bedford (17-7) to a season low in points.
“People always assume because we’re one of the highest-scoring teams in the state, we don’t play defense,” Brogioli said. “We play defense.”
Rebounding from an offensive lull, Wareham (24-1) went on a 12-point run in the second half with Rezendes back in the mix. Bedford’s Michael Thorsen, who was 0-for-4 behind the arc at that point, drained a trey with two minutes to go, and also drew two fouls from the Vikings to add two more points and bring the Buccaneers within 36-26 at the half.
In the opening seconds of the second half, Kevin Cangiano (nine points) stuck a 3-pointer to cut Wareham’s lead to seven points. Wareham played a little back on its heels early in the third, but the notorious Rezendes-to-Tavares alley-oop swung the momentum back to the Vikings, where it stayed until the end.
Point guard Michael Ingram-Rubin had a game-high 21 points for Bedford.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1238331
Raiders keep guard up
Photo by Matthew West
By Joe Vieira / Division 1 | Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
Center Carson Desrosiers helped Central Catholic open a double-digit lead in the third quarter of the Division 1 state semifinal last night, but when Madison Park climbed back in and the big man went to the bench with four fouls, it was the Raiders guards who made the difference.
Timely buckets by Luis Puello and Andrew Ouellette and a crucial defensive rebound by Jaycob Morales held off the Cardinals down the stretch as Central earned its second berth in the state championship game in three years with a 59-50 win at the Garden.
“It scared us, I’m not going to lie,” Morales said of Desrosiers’ departure. “He’s a big part of our team. When he came out, we looked at each other and said we have to step it up for him. We had to do it all for him, because he does it all for us.”
Madison Park (21-2) trailed by as much as 41-29 in the third, but a late run spurred by Spencer Braithwaite (11 points) and Jamal McCollum cut the lead to 49-44 entering the fourth.
When Desrosiers (20 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks) left the game just 1:31 into the frame, the Cardinals appeared to be in prime position to take command. Braithwaite sank a free throw and David Campbell (15 points, nine rebounds) scored in the paint to cut the lead to 49-47, but that was as close as they got.
“We wanted to get the ball inside, and we had trouble doing that,” Madison Park coach Dennis Wilson said. “We had some turnovers and then we had some bad shot selection, and that was a problem. Everything should have been to the basket, dunk or drive, and that wasn’t the case.”
The rash of turnovers and missed shots let Central (25-1) off the hook in a big way, as Puello drained a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 52-47 when Desrosiers re-entered the game with 3:22 remaining.
After Ouellette hit a tough layup in transition, Morales pulled down a rebound at the other end and it was off to the free throw line for the Raiders.
“Every time we needed a rebound, a guard snuck in and grabbed it,” Central coach Rick Nault said of the fourth quarter. “They kept it together. That was the key moment of the game right there. The lead never really moved.”
Central opened a 22-13 lead after one quarter, but a 13-1 run by the Cardinals, fueled by eight strong points in the paint from Campbell, cut the deficit to 31-29 before a clutch 3-pointer for Chris Conlin sent the Raiders into the locker room with a five-point lead.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1238328
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tavares leads Viking march
Bedford is money in overtime
By Jake Seiner and Evan MacDonald, Globe Correspondents | March 7, 2010
The Wareham boys’ basketball team has run over its competition all year long. The Vikings have dropped 90-plus points on their opponents 14 times, thanks primarily to their athleticism and fast-break abilities.
The third-seeded Vikings ran their way to a South title yesterday, knocking off top-seeded Cardinal Spellman, 78-71, at UMass-Boston.
Junior Jules Tavares starred for the Vikings, scoring 30 points, including the 1,000th of his career late in the second quarter on a driving layup.
The 6-foot-3-inch guard is the second Wareham player to eclipse the plateau this season, joining 6-1 senior Jordan Rezendes (15 points), who reached the mark in January.
“[Tavares] really stepped up,’’ said Wareham coach Kevin Brogioli, whose team will play Bedford in the state semifinals tomorrow at TD Garden.
Tavares and Rezendes could soon be joined by junior Patrick Murphy (11 points), who needs 14 points to become the third Wareham player in the 1,000-point club this season.
Tavares and the Vikings (23-1) went on a 20-6 run to close out the second quarter, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Murphy that gave Wareham a 42-32 lead at the break.
The Cardinals (22-2) made a push with a 6-0 run to open the third, and made a few charges to get back in the game, but each time they did, Wareham responded with a run of its own.
“I almost dropped it - I was just a little too excited,’’ Murphy said about getting his hands on the Division 3 South trophy. “Once we won it, you know it’s, ‘We’re going to the Garden. We’re going to the Garden.’ A lot of excitement going on now for the whole team.’’
Bedford 73, Lynn Tech 67 - After coming up short in the tournament the last few years, the Buccaneers were not going to be discouraged by a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.
Fueled by a raucous crowd, Bedford rallied from 13 points down to stun Lynn Tech in overtime in the North championship at Emmanuel College.
“The kids never quit when we got down,’’ said Bedford coach Jim Byrnes, whose squad improved to 17-6.
“We finally just said, ‘Fourth quarter. If we’re going to go down, let’s go down fighting, and let’s do it on the defensive end.’ That’s what turned it.’’
The Tigers began the fourth quarter with a 51-38 lead, but the Buccaneers came back with a flurry of steals and layups, and a basket by sophomore Justin McAfee tied the score at 57 with three minutes to play.
Following two Tech free throws, Bedford took its first lead of the quarter at 61-59 on a 3-point play by senior Brandon Watson.
Tech sophomore B-Jay Baptiste tied the score on a floater, though, and Tech had possession coming out of a timeout with 18.5 seconds remaining.
But a last-second 3-point attempt by junior Rich Warren was long, and the game went to overtime.
Bedford controlled the extra frame, scoring the first 6 points on a pair of free throws by Watson and layups by Kevin Cangiano and Michael Ingram-Rubin.
The Tigers (17-7) couldn’t get anything going offensively in overtime, and Bedford sealed the win at the line.
By Jake Seiner and Evan MacDonald, Globe Correspondents | March 7, 2010
The Wareham boys’ basketball team has run over its competition all year long. The Vikings have dropped 90-plus points on their opponents 14 times, thanks primarily to their athleticism and fast-break abilities.
The third-seeded Vikings ran their way to a South title yesterday, knocking off top-seeded Cardinal Spellman, 78-71, at UMass-Boston.
Junior Jules Tavares starred for the Vikings, scoring 30 points, including the 1,000th of his career late in the second quarter on a driving layup.
The 6-foot-3-inch guard is the second Wareham player to eclipse the plateau this season, joining 6-1 senior Jordan Rezendes (15 points), who reached the mark in January.
“[Tavares] really stepped up,’’ said Wareham coach Kevin Brogioli, whose team will play Bedford in the state semifinals tomorrow at TD Garden.
Tavares and Rezendes could soon be joined by junior Patrick Murphy (11 points), who needs 14 points to become the third Wareham player in the 1,000-point club this season.
Tavares and the Vikings (23-1) went on a 20-6 run to close out the second quarter, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Murphy that gave Wareham a 42-32 lead at the break.
The Cardinals (22-2) made a push with a 6-0 run to open the third, and made a few charges to get back in the game, but each time they did, Wareham responded with a run of its own.
“I almost dropped it - I was just a little too excited,’’ Murphy said about getting his hands on the Division 3 South trophy. “Once we won it, you know it’s, ‘We’re going to the Garden. We’re going to the Garden.’ A lot of excitement going on now for the whole team.’’
Bedford 73, Lynn Tech 67 - After coming up short in the tournament the last few years, the Buccaneers were not going to be discouraged by a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.
Fueled by a raucous crowd, Bedford rallied from 13 points down to stun Lynn Tech in overtime in the North championship at Emmanuel College.
“The kids never quit when we got down,’’ said Bedford coach Jim Byrnes, whose squad improved to 17-6.
“We finally just said, ‘Fourth quarter. If we’re going to go down, let’s go down fighting, and let’s do it on the defensive end.’ That’s what turned it.’’
The Tigers began the fourth quarter with a 51-38 lead, but the Buccaneers came back with a flurry of steals and layups, and a basket by sophomore Justin McAfee tied the score at 57 with three minutes to play.
Following two Tech free throws, Bedford took its first lead of the quarter at 61-59 on a 3-point play by senior Brandon Watson.
Tech sophomore B-Jay Baptiste tied the score on a floater, though, and Tech had possession coming out of a timeout with 18.5 seconds remaining.
But a last-second 3-point attempt by junior Rich Warren was long, and the game went to overtime.
Bedford controlled the extra frame, scoring the first 6 points on a pair of free throws by Watson and layups by Kevin Cangiano and Michael Ingram-Rubin.
The Tigers (17-7) couldn’t get anything going offensively in overtime, and Bedford sealed the win at the line.
Madison Park puts on finishing touches
By Evan MacDonald, Globe Correspondent | March 6, 2010
Over its last few games, the Madison Park boys’ basketball team had seen big leads evaporate. Tuesday, the Cardinals led by 19 at halftime but required overtime to dispatch Brockton.
When the Cardinals saw another double-digit lead creep down to just 5 points against Mansfield last night, the team’s mind-set was on finishing the job.
“The last two or three games, we’ve gained big leads and let them come back into the game. We lost focus,’’ senior guard Spencer Braithwaite said. “I think today, we were more focused on stretching that lead and keeping focused.’’
The Cardinals did respond, stretching their lead back to double digits en route to a 72-60 win over Mansfield in the Division 1 South final at TD Garden.
Senior center David Campbell scored 29 points and Braithwaite added 19 as the top-seeded Cardinals won their first sectional title since 1982.
Madison Park (22-1) will play for the EMass championship Monday at the Garden.
Mansfield (21-3) got as close as 41-36 early in the third quarter, but the Cardinals used their lockdown defense to close the frame on an 11-4 run that restored their breathing toom.
“The old cliché is, ‘Defense wins championships,’ but it’s true,’’ Cardinals coach Dennis Wilson said. “If we can pressure people and make them do things that they don’t do well, then we’re going to be in any ballgame.’’
The Cardinals’ staunch defense continued in the final stanza as they stretched the lead to 64-46. The Hornets didn’t sink a field goal until Fred Baskin (team-high 14 points) hit a 3-pointer with just more than two minutes left.
Mansfield coach Michael Vaughan said Madison Park’s speed and athleticism on the defensive end was crucial.
“They get a hand on every loose ball, and it amazes me,’’ Vaughan said. “Four or five times I thought we had good rebounding position, and they’d get a finger on it, and two tips later, they’d have the ball.’’
The Cardinals took a 40-31 lead into halftime, with the highlight being Braithwaite’s half-court 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer.
Over its last few games, the Madison Park boys’ basketball team had seen big leads evaporate. Tuesday, the Cardinals led by 19 at halftime but required overtime to dispatch Brockton.
When the Cardinals saw another double-digit lead creep down to just 5 points against Mansfield last night, the team’s mind-set was on finishing the job.
“The last two or three games, we’ve gained big leads and let them come back into the game. We lost focus,’’ senior guard Spencer Braithwaite said. “I think today, we were more focused on stretching that lead and keeping focused.’’
The Cardinals did respond, stretching their lead back to double digits en route to a 72-60 win over Mansfield in the Division 1 South final at TD Garden.
Senior center David Campbell scored 29 points and Braithwaite added 19 as the top-seeded Cardinals won their first sectional title since 1982.
Madison Park (22-1) will play for the EMass championship Monday at the Garden.
Mansfield (21-3) got as close as 41-36 early in the third quarter, but the Cardinals used their lockdown defense to close the frame on an 11-4 run that restored their breathing toom.
“The old cliché is, ‘Defense wins championships,’ but it’s true,’’ Cardinals coach Dennis Wilson said. “If we can pressure people and make them do things that they don’t do well, then we’re going to be in any ballgame.’’
The Cardinals’ staunch defense continued in the final stanza as they stretched the lead to 64-46. The Hornets didn’t sink a field goal until Fred Baskin (team-high 14 points) hit a 3-pointer with just more than two minutes left.
Mansfield coach Michael Vaughan said Madison Park’s speed and athleticism on the defensive end was crucial.
“They get a hand on every loose ball, and it amazes me,’’ Vaughan said. “Four or five times I thought we had good rebounding position, and they’d get a finger on it, and two tips later, they’d have the ball.’’
The Cardinals took a 40-31 lead into halftime, with the highlight being Braithwaite’s half-court 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer.
One huge statement
Photo by Matthew Healey
Underdog New Mission routs Winthrop
By Bruce Lerch / Div. 4 North Boys Hoop | Sunday, March 7, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
The tiny school with 250 kids from Mission Hill is making a rather large statement behind its exceptionally talented boys basketball team.
Junior Samir McDaniels scored 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and grabbed nine rebounds as top seed New Mission completed its hurricane-like tour de force march through Division 4 North by overwhelming No. 2 Winthrop for a 70-38 victory yesterday at the Jean Yawkey Center.
“We always thought of ourselves as being one of the best teams in the state,” said Titans coach Cory McCarthy. “Winthrop is one of the best teams in the state and we definitely stepped up to that level today. We played state championship basketball today and I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
As if winning its first two postseason games by a combined 68 points wasn’t enough, New Mission (22-1) installed a new four-high offense in practice Wednesday. Despite having such little time to get acclimated to the scheme, the Titans took to it as though they had played it all their lives and took a 20-point lead into halftime (34-14).
The big and athletic Titans also worked together to frustrate All-Scholastic Dino Mallios, who was held to just 13 points and never could get any flow to his normally dynamic offensive game.
“I think Mallios got a little frustrated with how we denied him the ball,” McCarthy said. “He’s such a great player so denying him was the best thing for us because everywhere he went, he saw two or three defenders.”
In the final minute of the third quarter, Samir McDaniels collected a tipped pass from Osmel Odena (seven assists) and kissed it off the glass to break the 1,000-point mark. The game was halted as the junior received a standing ovation from the crowd.
“It meant a lot because I had a lot of family and friends here today,” McDaniels said. “More important though is that we got the win. We have bigger goals that we still haven’t accomplished yet and we’re not stopping until we get there.”
Ousamane Drame added 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Titans, while Kachi Mzerem also contributed 10 points.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1237872
Panthers go fourth again
By Paul Teves / D4 South Boys | Sunday, March 7, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
The Cathedral boys basketball team outscored Westport 25-8 in the fourth quarter en route to its third Division 4 South title in four years, 66-49.
The Panthers, who have eliminated Westport each of the last four years from the tourney (three times in the South championship game) found themselves tied at 41 at the end of the third, but scored the final frame’s first eight points and finished the game on a 15-2 run to vanquish the upstart Wildcats (21-3).
“Once we decided to cut the baseline off and didn’t give them any more open looks we were able to create some stops,” Cathedral coach Carnell Suttles said of the fourth-quarter dominance, which helped the Panthers improve to 19-5.
Cathedral’s Anthony Bell provided the early spark in the fourth quarter, scoring all six of his points on a pair of 3-pointers to give Cathedral a 49-41 edge.
Westport, as it did for much of the game, clawed back, cutting the lead to four (51-47). However, the Wildcats failed to execute down the stretch offensively, scoring just two points over the final five minutes of the game.
“They executed well down the stretch and we had trouble getting the ball in the hoop,” Westport coach Scott Boudria said. “We missed a lot of outside shots and had a lot of our outside shots deflected.”
Westport was able to stay in the contest thanks in part to the poor free throw shooting of the Panthers (48 percent), and Cathedral’s turnover troubles.
Joseph Greene and Earnest McNeil led the way with 20 and 18 points respectively. McNeil also hauled down 10 rebounds.
Westport was led by junior Adam Soares, who scored a team-high 18 points, including nine in the third quarter to give the Wildcats their only lead of the game, 41-39.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1237876
The Cathedral boys basketball team outscored Westport 25-8 in the fourth quarter en route to its third Division 4 South title in four years, 66-49.
The Panthers, who have eliminated Westport each of the last four years from the tourney (three times in the South championship game) found themselves tied at 41 at the end of the third, but scored the final frame’s first eight points and finished the game on a 15-2 run to vanquish the upstart Wildcats (21-3).
“Once we decided to cut the baseline off and didn’t give them any more open looks we were able to create some stops,” Cathedral coach Carnell Suttles said of the fourth-quarter dominance, which helped the Panthers improve to 19-5.
Cathedral’s Anthony Bell provided the early spark in the fourth quarter, scoring all six of his points on a pair of 3-pointers to give Cathedral a 49-41 edge.
Westport, as it did for much of the game, clawed back, cutting the lead to four (51-47). However, the Wildcats failed to execute down the stretch offensively, scoring just two points over the final five minutes of the game.
“They executed well down the stretch and we had trouble getting the ball in the hoop,” Westport coach Scott Boudria said. “We missed a lot of outside shots and had a lot of our outside shots deflected.”
Westport was able to stay in the contest thanks in part to the poor free throw shooting of the Panthers (48 percent), and Cathedral’s turnover troubles.
Joseph Greene and Earnest McNeil led the way with 20 and 18 points respectively. McNeil also hauled down 10 rebounds.
Westport was led by junior Adam Soares, who scored a team-high 18 points, including nine in the third quarter to give the Wildcats their only lead of the game, 41-39.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1237876
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