THE PERFECT ENDING
BC High caps an unbeaten season with Div. 1 crown
LOWELL — BC High players rushed to their fans, draped themselves in state championship t-shirts and medals, and showered each other with laughs.
basketball
The perfect season was complete.
Mike Loughnane scored 16 points while Mahari Guerrier added 12 points and nine rebounds as No. 1 BC High completed an undefeated season with a 71-59 win over No. 2 Newton North to capture the Div. 1 state title on Sunday night at the Tsongas Center.
The championship is BC High’s first since 2006-07 when the team also went 25-0.
“You know that every time you wake up for the next while you’re going to have a smile,” BC High coach Bill Loughnane said. “I think our group was always confident in their ability but they worked hard to make themselves even better.”
Loughnane now has five Div. 1 state championships to his name as a head coach and is a perfect 5-0 in state title games.
“This feels almost too good to be true to win it in my last year with my dad and with these terrific teammates, it’s incredible it happened,” Mike said. “We just stay focused and never looked ahead.”
BC High grabbed an early double-digit lead as a Mike Loughnane three-pointer and four points off the bench from Connor Strickland gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead after one. Marat Belhouchet drilled two threes to get the Tigers back within six but a Guerrier three point play and a Cooper layup highlighted a 12-3 run that put BC High up 35-18 at the half.
The Tigers got within striking distance in the third quarter on a pair of Will Davis baskets and another Belhouchet three-pointer but a Loughnane three and a Cooper slam gave the Eagles a 10-point cushion going into the final stanza. BC High put the Tigers to bed early in the fourth as Strickland finished at the basket and Ryan Dear and Loughnane each hit 3-pointers to give the Eagles a commanding 18-point lead.
Maynard 64, Paulo Freire 53 —
A strong defensive effort from start to finish along with a pristine passing game led Maynard to their first state title since 2017, adding a Div. 5 crown to its previous Div. 4 state championship.
The sixth-seeded Tigers did not trail in a 64-53 victory over No. 4 Paulo Freire at Tsongas Center at UMassLowell Sunday afternoon.
“I’m just so proud of these kids and our program overall,” said Maynard coach Paul Howes. “We’ve proven that we can compete and we have certainly proven that this year there is no better small school in Massachusetts.”
After starting on a 13-2 run, Maynard (26-2) led 13-7 after the first quarter. From that point, senior captain Kyle Monahan took over as he scored nine of his 22 in the second to push the Tigers’ lead to 35-20 at the half.
“(Monahan) is one of the best players in the state,” Howes said about the senior captain. “He’s a terrific guard. He can handle it. He can shoot the midrange game. He can take the three if you are going to give it to him (as well).”
Monahan also led the team with five assists as the team collected 12 to the Panthers’ four.
“I was looking for my shot when I was going downhill, but I know we have specifically Abraao Alencar that is just already ready for the drop downs,” said Monahan about his ability to share the ball. “I’m always thinking I can get to the rim, but knowing that the big guys (are open) will always help.”
In the third, both teams scored 14 to keep the lead status quo before the advantage ballooned to 57-36 on a triple for junior Nolan Currier. After that, Paulo Freire (14-8) started to cut the deficit down and got as close as 62-51 with under a minute left before Maynard closed the contest out.
Girls
Springfield Central 43, Andover 40 — After seeing Andover nearly erase an early 22-point lead, Springfield Central managed to be the final team standing.
Amany Lopez scored 16 points while the Golden Eagles came through with three straight defensive stops late as No. 3 Springfield Central held on for a 43-40 win over top-seede Andover to claim the Div. 1 state title.
The championship is the third in Springfield Central program history and its first since 2017.
“We’ve been in tough spots facing adversity before,” Springfield Central coach James Gee said. “We were down 11 at the half earlier in the tournament, down double figures in the St. Mary’s Lynn tournament. Our girls know how to respond when opposing teams make a run.”
Andover trailed 28-15 at the break but chipped away in the third quarter. Amelia Hanscom drilled a 3-pointer and star Anna Foley (22 points) scored seven points as part of a 15-11 quarter for the Golden Warriors that trimmed the deficit to 3930.
Springfield’s advantage got back to 11, 43-32, with 5:18 remaining on a Sydney Dodds putback, but Andover went on a lategame spurt. Hanscom finished a three-point play and Michaela Buckley hit a pullup to put Springfield’s lead at 43-36.
Foley then continued her dominance inside, hitting a baby jumper from just inside the foul line to put the deficit at five.
A Marissa Kobelski layup cut the lead to 43-40 with 1:20 left but Andover turned it over and had a pair of 3-point attempts come up short in the waning moments.
Hopedale 55, Hoosac Valley 45 — Hopedale senior Bri Frongilio did not leave the Tsongas Center empty handed.
She took home a state championship medal, a school scoring record and a little scratch on her forehead.
After Frongilio’s Blue Raiders defeated Hoosac Valley 55-45 on Sunday to win the Div. 5 title, she caught an edge of the state championship trophy on her forehead.
“The edges are kind of sharp,” Frongilio said.
Frongilio, who will play for Bryant University next year, finished the game with 23 points. She became the school’s all-time leading scorer just one minute and four seconds into the game on her second basket, a 3-pointer. She entered the game needing four points to pass the previous recordholder, 2008 graduate Lekia Cowen.
“She only needed four and if she didn’t score four, we weren’t going to be in this game,” said Hopedale coach Jason Rojee. “She averages 28 points a game. She’s never taken a bad shot.”
Hopedale (22-3) was making its first appearance in a state final.
“This is the moment we’ve been dreaming about since the fourth grade,” Frongilio said. “It’s just been a storybook ending.”
Frongilio scored 11 of her points in the first quarter while Hopedale took a 15-13 lead. She did not score in the second quarter but the Raiders held a 29-23 edge at the half, with eighth-grader Phoebe Carroll scoring 11 points, finishing with 14.
Hopedale held on to the lead for the entire game, holding an 11-point advantage at 47-35 with 3:53 left in the fourth following a steal and layup from Frongillo.
Hoosac Valley (22-4) came within a point with 5:12 left in the third, but Hopedale responded with back-to-back 3s from Frongilio and Lilah Casey (12 points).