North Andover nets crown
A whirlwind couple of days ended with North Andover capturing its first sectional title since 1975.
The third-seeded Scarlet Knights, less than 24 hours after a semifinal win over defending state champion Brighton, received strong games from Jake McElroy (21 points) and Garrett Murphy (12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) to outpace No. 8 Woburn, 6450, in the Division 2 North final yesterday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
North Andover (19-5) will play South champion TechBoston in the state semifinals on Tuesday night (7:30) at the Garden.
“We didn’t practice two days before because no one in North Andover had any power. We go to Woburn (High) and beat Brighton, and then come here less than 24 hours later and win,” said North Andover coach Paul Tanglis. “It’s just gusty, and it’s a testament to this team.”
North Andover took advantage of the hot shooting of McElroy and Kyle Moore (12 points) to grab a 17-7 lead heading into the second quarter. Woburn, however, responded behind the 3-point shooting of Austin Stachowski (11 points) to cut the deficit to 24-19 at halftime.
But eight third-quarter points from Murphy, along with back-to-back 3’s by McElroy and Moore and a buzzer-beating triple from Michael Gorgoni pushed the Scarlet Knights’ lead to 46-34 with eight minutes to play.
Woburn (16-8) kept things interesting early in the fourth, but McElroy drained another trey with 4:45 left to put the game out of reach.
TechBoston 69, Hingham 44 — The ceiling was always high for the Bears, and now they are two games within reach of it.
With Maurice Works leading the way with 22 points, the top-seeded Bears (23-1) overwhelmed the No.2 Harbormen (21-3) to capture the Div. 2 Central title at Taunton High.
“I’m happy for Dorchester. I’m happy for inner city kids in Boston,” said TechBoston coach Johnny Williams. “It proves to you that they are capable and if you hold them to high standards, they will perform.”
After Hingham scored the first five points of the contest, TechBoston reeled off 19 straight to jump in front for good. Works scored 12 of that run, including a dunk to cap the run 20 seconds into the second quarter.
Hingham battled back behind big men John Lowther (16 points) and Jack Johnson (17 points), trimming the double-digit deficit to 36-31 with 3:20 left in the third quarter. But the Bears answered with an 11-2 spurt to close the quarter with a commanding lead, thanks to Shamar Moore (16 points) and Walter Dew-Hollis (14 points).
TechBoston’s stout defense was also on display, forcing 20 turnovers and holding Hingham to 1-for-15 shooting from deep.
Everett 68, Lawrence 56 — Senior Gared Boyce scored 21 of his game-high 28 points after halftime to power the No. 1 Crimson Tide (23-1) over the No. 2 Lancers (21-3) to capture the Div.1 North championship at the Tsongas Center.
After winning its first sectional crown since 1994, Everett will play South champion Mansfield in the state semifinals tomorrow night (7:30) at the Garden.
“We worked hard all year and stayed conditioned and I thought that was the difference today,” said Everett coach John DiBiaso. “We shared the basketball and we played great defense against a great offensive team.”
Lawrence (21-3) held a 30-29 halftime lead behind 3-point shooting from Cristian Kingsley (12 points) and Juan Felix Rodriguez. But after Everett snagged a 43-41 lead heading into the fourth, Boyce scored nine straight as the Tide overwhelmed the Lancers in crunch time.
“It feels great and we are going to cherish this moment as a team,” Boyce said.
Senior Caleb Jacobs chipped in nine points for Everett while Lawrence’s Chris Ruiz had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Mashpee 73, Cohasset 54 — Devaun Ford scored 21 points as the No.3 Falcons (19-4) defeated the No. 5 Skippers (17-7) in the Div.3 South final at Taunton High to capture the school’s first sectional title in boys basketball.
Ford also set the school scoring mark on a layup with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter, giving him 1,023 career points.
The Falcons went on an 18-0 run at the end of the third quarter into the first three minutes of the fourth to the game on its head. Ford scored five points around a Michael Fraser 3-pointer as part of the burst that put the Falcons in front 63-46 with four minutes left.
Watertown 44, St. Mary’s 36 — On the strength of an 11-0 run to start the second half, the seventh-seeded Red Raiders (18-6) upset the No.1 Spartans (19-4) to win their second straight Div.3 North title at the Tsongas Center.
“I thought in the first half we played well, we just didn’t make enough shots,” said Watertown coach Stephen Harrington. “Once we made a shot or two, we separated the lead a little bit, and we just kind of maintained that the rest of the game.”
The run gave Watertown at 21-11 lead, but the Spartans shrunk the gap to 29-23 by the end of the third quarter, and pulled within one point in the opening minutes of the fourth. But Watertown never relinquished the lead, as Julio Fulcar had 12 of his 19 points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting.