‘VERY IMPRESSIVE’
Defending champ North High rolls past Lowell to D1 Final Four
WORCESTER — North High boys basketball coach Al Pettway didn’t have much to say to his team at halftime.
And that’s about as rare as a total solar eclipse.
“That’s like the first time we were in and out of the locker room,” Pettway said. “So I tip my hat to my guys. They rose to the occasion tonight.”
The top-seeded Polar Bears eschewed their typically slow start as they raced to a 24-point lead in the first quarter with a pristine performance and continued to pour it on while defeating No. 9 Lowell, 98-52, Friday night in a Division 1 state tournament quarterfinal non-contest.
The Polar Bears improved to 22-0 with their 43rd straight victory overall and 41st straight against in-state competition. They’ll meet No. 4 Xaverian (17-6) in a state semifinal at a time, date and place to be determined.
“It means a lot,” senior Jaydon Sarkodie said of reaching the Final Four. “Last year we made history, this year it’s more personal because we lost our friend to violence.”
The Polar Bears became the first public school in Worcester to win a Division 1 state championship last March. Eight months later, Carl-Hens Beliard, the lone senior on that title team and a freshman at Salem State, died from gunshot wounds Nov. 1.
The Polar Bears led King Philip by six points and were tied with Waltham at the end of the first quarter of their first two tournament games before going on to win by massive margins.
They dispensed with any drama against the Red Raiders, whose six regular-season losses were 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 (in overtime), and 12 points.
“That’s the first time (we’ve been beaten badly),” Lowell coach Bob Michalczyk. “They’re very, very good. They have size, speed, depth, everything.
“They came out, they set the tone, had us on our heels the whole time, and just kept it on.”
The Red Raiders committed 10 turnovers and scored eight points — to North’s 31 — while Michalczyk called three timeouts to no avail in a lopsided first quarter that was arguably the best eight minutes of two-way basketball the Polar Bears have played this season.
They drained four 3-pointers with junior Amaren Minor, senior Joe Okla, freshman Keyshon Joyner and Sarkodie hitting from beyond the arc. Senior Teshaun Steele (2) and Okla were physical and determined inside while converting a trio of old-school three-point plays.
Minor, his right hand taped for good luck after coming in scoreless in the postseason, put up seven points in the game’s first four minutes as the Polar Bears were a crisp and cohesive offensive unit.
“I haven’t been hitting a lot of shots lately, so I came here early today and put some (extra) shots up,” Minor said, later adding, “The momentum as a team was great. We played very intense, played our good defense, forcing them to call timeouts early.”
The 6-foot-6 Okla connected on his first four shots as he scored 10 of his 16 points in the first period. He finished 7 of 9 from the field to go with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“He’s just playing hard,” Pettway said. “I keep telling him he plays hard, but ‘I need you to play harder.’ I think he did that tonight.
“He finished at the basket, he rebounded, he did everything I asked him to do. So very proud of him tonight.”
Steele, who also checks in at 6-6, collected a team-high 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a blocked shot while drawing three fouls. He had three dunks, boosting his tournament total to nine.
Junior Amir Jenkins, who gave the North contingent a scare when he went down with a lower right leg injury early in the second quarter only to return a few minutes later, finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and a block.
Classmate Khari Bryan again was a disruptive defender and fabulous facilitator, tallying 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.
“Very impressive, very impressive,” Pettway said. “I thought the kids played great in the first half. I’ve been trying to get them to play four quarters and, for the most part, they did it.
The first four off the bench, sophomores Nalajah Christopher and Omari Scott, Sarkodie and Joyner, again were impactful, scoring 18 of their 38 points in the first half, which ended with the Polar Bears ahead, 55-22.
Sarkodie (13 points), Christopher (9) and Joyner (7) combined for five 3s in the first half, while Scott (9) drew a pair of shooting fouls.
“When our bench plays like that, we’re a very dangerous team,” Pettway said.
—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X @RichGarvenTG.