Charlestown, Burke will compete for title
Every single week this winter, fans have witnessed great high school basketball games. Some nights have had epic buzzer-beaters, others have featured theater in other unique respects.
In an unorthodox twist, Wednesday’s highly-anticipated Boston City League semifinal between Charlestown and Latin Academy somehow managed to deliver both.
Freshman star Jaylen Hunter-Coleman finished with 22 points, and hit three game-ending free throws with no time remaining on the clock, as Charlestown (18-3) punched its ticket to the BCL boys basketball championship for the first time since 2011 with a stunning 68-65 overtime victory against the Dragons.
“Earlier in the year, I saw Worcester North play Lawrence,”
said Charlestown coach Hugh Coleman. “It was an amazing game, a battle. But for us, that is one of the best games I have ever coached. And I had the pleasure of coaching my son Jaylen.”
The programs traded baskets from the opening possession. Osman Aden registered 10 points in the first half, helping Latin Academy (13-7) build a 31-26 lead by the break.
“Sometimes I think this season, we’ve beaten ourselves more than other teams have beaten us by turning the ball over, by not doing what we do well,” said Coleman. “I urged the kids to do what we do. Play with a little bit more intensity, play with a little more fire, and try to make some plays and that’s what we did.”
With 4:37 to play in the third, Latin Academy found itself clinging to a 39-36 advantage. From that point until the early stages of the final stanza, Charlestown benefitted from a 16-5 scoring run, seizing a 52-44 lead.
Yet, the Dragons had one final gasp. After the Townies turned the ball over with 13.8 seconds remaining, Latin Academy senior Michael Corriea Johnson drilled a gametying layup in transition with six seconds to play, sending the game to overtime deadlocked at 55-all.
With things knotted up at 65-65 in the waning seconds, the Townies tried to piece together a game-winning sequence. After bleeding a few seconds, senior Ricky Cabral drove to the rack. There was no space available, so he fired a pass to Hunter-Coleman. The freshman was struck as he released his attempt with no time left on the clock, and awarded three foul shots. He proceeded to drain them all, and the Townies were headed for the title bout.
“I already knew I was going to make (them),” said
Hunter-Coleman. “I’ve been working on it for hours, shooting a hundred free throws every week, every day. I knew I was going to make (those).”
Victor Soto also helped propel the Townies with 16 points. Aden finished with a team-high 20 points for Latin Academy, while Brennan Shapiro turned in 19 points for the Dragons himself.
In the other semifinal, Jaeden Roberts turned in a heroic performance, finishing with 23 points as Burke (15-4) clinched a trip to the league championship for a second straight season with a thrilling 57-52 win over rival Tech Boston.
“I think it’s a big thing for our city,” Burke coach Sean Ryan said. “There’s some bragging rights, because there are some good programs with a lot great history. We’re all trying to get (to the title game). For us to get there and just worry about ourselves, it’s a huge goal.”
The game centered around the same pattern, with Burke constructing a decent lead, only to watch Tech Boston chip away. The crucial sequence came at the conclusion of the third quarter, as Roberts hit a contested layup at the buzzer to provide Burke a 44-34 edge. While Tech Boston attempted to rally down the stretch, the gap was simply too large to overcome.
The Bulldogs also received a 14-point boost from Matt Drayton.
Hassan Jenkins finished with 22 points to power Tech Boston, eclipsing 1,000 points for his career with a free throw in the second quarter.
“I want to go back to back,” Roberts said. “It feels good to be winning this, and going right into the championship. We’ve got to handle business.”
In the BCL girls semifinals, Destinee Ogarro scored six of her 12 points in overtime as Tech Boston (16-5) defeated Fenway 48-42. Jovanah Costin added 19 for the Bears, while Sierra Cherrie led the way for Fenway with 17.
Tech Boston will face New Mission (13-8), a 47-30 winner over Latin Academy. Tamia Darling and Jourdan Ferreira tallied 14 apiece for New Mission, while Amiah Noel and Kiara Collins each had 11 for Latin Academy.