By Russ Waterman
MaxPreps.com
Many of the top seeds have survived, but quite a few others have dropped to the hardwood in MIAA playoff action held around the state over the past few weeks. But the stage is nearly set for the big arenas throughout the Bay State as most of the pairings for the sectional finals in each division will be established over the next three days.
Here's a breakdown and a who's who of sectional sites throughout the state. Sectional finals (unless otherwise noted) for all boys and girls teams will be held as follows: Saturday, March 8: North, Tsongas Arena, Lowell; South, Clark Center, UMass-Boston; Central, Harrington Auditorium, WPI (Worcester); and West, Curry Hicks Cage, UMass-Amherst.
Boys
Division 1 North – A huge shock wave resonated from Reading on Tuesday as Central Catholic defeated top seeded Charlestown, 74-63, in overtime. The Raiders lived to advance to the sectionals when a pass from Adrian Gonzalez to Carson Desrosiers was banked in from the low post to send the game into overtime. With 30 points, Will Marsden sparked the Raiders, who await the outcome of (2) Lowell vs. (3) Everett for their sectionals finals clash.
Division 1 South – The final shakedown will occur when the winners of semifinal contests involving (1) Brockton vs. (4) Framingham and (2) B.C. High against (4) Newton North are determined. The Eagles of BC High, defending state champions, and the Boxers of Brockton, not pressed yet during postseason, have been highly ranked all season, and should they meet in the sectional finals, it could be a compelling game, with state championship implications.
Division 1 Central – Bring out the defibrillators for the next game involving No. 5 St. John's, which has won two overtime contests against Shrewsbury (82-81) and No. 1 Doherty (69-66), while registering a 'routine' win over Fitchburg, 61-59. In the sectional title showdown, St. John's must find a way to contain (2) Marlboro and its big man, George Jordan.
Division 1 West – The sectional finals won't be cast until a winners emerges from the semifinals. (1) Central (18-2), whose feature players are Preye Preboye and Victor Delroasario, must find a way to stop (5) West Springfield and Western Mass' leading scorer, Joe Ragland. And (3) Longmeadow will try to overcome (7) Cathedral in its quest to reach the sectional title game.
Division 2 North – (10) Reading, with 6-foot-8 Evan Smotryczhas dominating play, has been a giant-killer, beating (7) Dracut, then (2) Woburn and (3) North Andover. And what a matchup it will be on Saturday against fellow Middlesex League foe Wakefield. With its dominating players Jared Ioshua and Nick Serino, Wakefield stunned (1) Marblehead to send this sectional into a free-for-all for other top seeds.
Division 2 South – This sectional has gone pretty much as expected, with the winners from these titanic encounters: (1) Stoughton vs. Dartmouth and (2) Falmouth against (6) Catholic Memorial (winner over B.C. High during the regular season) determining who advances to the sectional finale.
Division 2 Central – Tantasqua (22-0), defending Division 2 state champion, is riding the crest of a 47-game win streak. Brian Vayda scored his 1,000th point in their semifinal win over Uxbridge and will face (2) St. Bernard's on Saturday.
Division 2 West – Can (10) South Hadley continue to defy the odds? Among its tourney victims have been (2) Palmer, but now must it overcome (3) Drury to see who plays (1) Taconic and its two stars, Jeric Tyler and Jake Rand, in the sectional finals.
Division 3 North – The whirlwind ride of Bishop Fenwick (13) has ended but not before scaring No. 1 Wilmington (20-2), which won, 68-66, in an exciting overtime game. Next up for Wilmington is (2) Watertown, which has advanced to its fourth straight sectional final and is led by Kyle Stockmal.
Division 3 South – It couldn't have been scripted much better. Each of the first four seeds had their chances to advance to the sectional final but in two exciting semifinals, (4) Scituate upset (1) and formerly unbeaten Medfield, 66-64; and (3) Wareham beat (2) Norwell, 53-52. Keith Fleury was the late-game hero for Scituate with a steal and lay-up on a buzzer-beating play while 6-foot-9 center Sean McCarthy was a handful with 14 points and two dozen boards. Thus two worthy teams, Wareham and Scituate, vie for the sectional title
Division 3 Central – This division was scrambled right away with (8) Bromfield taking out (1) West Boylston and (7) Sutton conquering (2) Whitinsville Christian. Sutton will have to claim another upset victim, (3) South Lancaster, while Bromfield aims to keep the momentum going to get past another higher seed, (5) Maynard, to advance to the sectional final on Saturday.
Division 3 West – Fans of frontrunners will be pleased that (1) Sabis International Charter School and (2) Frontier, both with 21-1 records, will meet in the sectional final at UMass. The Frontier Red Hawks have Jamie Bell, Gary Grandonico, and the brothers Brian and Dan Clark, while Sabis counters with Quinton McMillian and Andre King.
Division 4 North – It didn't take long before the bracket in this sectional was rendered obsolete, the most noteworthy upsets being Lynnfield (8) over top-ranked Trinity, 91-83, in overtime, followed by (10) Ipswich beating (2) Austin Prep. Now that the upset dust has settled, it will be (5) Winthrop vs. (6) North Cambridge Catholic at Salem State on Friday night.
Division 4 South – Once Dover-Sherborn beat No. 2 West Bridgewater, the brackets began to unravel. Cathedral eventually upended (1) Westport, and the (4) Avon duo of Akeem Williams and Deric McCottrell, still pouring in points at 60-plus per game, will try to contain the big and physical Cathedral squad led by Javon Williams (29 points in the Westport win) in the finals at Braintree on Friday.
Girls
Division 1 North – The third time was the charm for Andover, which had lost to Merrimack Conference foe Lowell two years in a row in the semifinals but this time clamped down on the Red Raiders, 44-34, to advance to Lowell on Sat. at Tsongas Arena. It doesn't get any easier for Andover, which will collide against dangerous (7) Central Catholic, which decisively beat (4) Lexington.
Division 1 South – Thursday's semifinal matchups between (8) Quincy and (5) New Bedford, and (3) Barnstable against (10) Sandwich determines the sectional finalists. And what a wild sectional ride it was for many teams with (1) Franklin, (2) Falmouth and (4) Brockton all bowing out.
Division 1 Central – Despite having to mount a late rally to overcome (8) Holy Name, top-ranked Westboro (22-0) still has a clean slate, though (3) Shepherd Hill will try its best to break the string on Saturday. Annette Kristiansen is the leading scorer for the unbeaten Rangers.
Division 1 West – Just about everything fell into place in this sectional. (1) Central (20-1) meets upstart (5) West Springfield while (2) Northampton confronts (3) Minnechaug to sort out the sectional finalists. Central is the three-time state champion and is anchored by Felicia Barron, Esther Wallace and Brie Malone.
Division 2 North – Guess who's back? (4) Lincoln-Sudbury, despite losing All-Scholastic center Carolyn Swords from last year's state title team, is once again in position to play in the finals at Tsongas Arena on Saturday. The opponent will be one of two other underdogs, either (10) Arlington Catholic (which counts (2) Westford among its upset victims) or (6) Reading.
Division 2 South – (1) Bishop Feehan, undefeated against Mass. competition, recovered from a sluggish playoff start to put away Notre Dame Academy behind a 30-point effort by Amy Lepley. The Shamrocks face (4) Wellesley in one semifinal while (2) Walpole has to be wary of upstart (11) Medfield, which has already surprised (6) Oliver Ames and (3) Silver Lake.
Division 2 Central – There were only six teams to begin with in this sectional, with (1) Millbury and (3) Groton-Dunstable poised to compete against each other in the sectional finals at WPI.
Division 2 West – There have been few surprises in prior games leading up to semifinal encounters between (1) Monument Mountain and (5) Mahar and the other between (2) Commerce and (3) Palmer.
Division 3 North – (2) Pentucket has survived and (8) Weston, which shocked (1) Pope John is alive, at least until it has to contend with (5) Winthrop for the right to meet Pentucket on Saturday.
Division 3 South – Considering the sizes of the schools, there might be more talent per student capita packed into their semifinals, be it boys or girls, than in any regional in the state. Besides (2) Cardinal Spellman, a former top-ranked eastern Mass squad, competing against (3) Fairhaven, there's (1) Westwood and (5) Archbishop Williams in the other contest.
Division 3 Central – At WPI on Thursday, (9) Whitinsville Christian attempts to be a spoiler again, this time against (4) Sutton, while (2) Quaboag and (3) Hopedale challenge each in the other semifinal game. There might not be a better inside-out combination in this division than center Jess Peacock and guard Lekia Cowen, a member of the 2000-point club.
Division 3 West – On Thursday it's (1) Lee vs. (5) Lenox and (2) Granby vs. (6) New Leadership for the right to meet each other in the sectional finals. There is no answer for the question 'who is key a player for Lee?' No one averages in double figures.
Division 4 North – Who knows what will happen after there have been so many bracket-busting games in this crazy division, which featured (15) Georgetown toppling (2) Matignon, and (9) Manchester providing another astounding upset over (1) New Mission. Manchester survived and it's doubtful that (3) Mt. Alvernia wants to be considered a favorite against Manchester in the sectional finals on Friday night at Salem.
Division 4 South – The ultimate upset? How about (16) Millis over (1) Sacred Heart to begin the tourney. Now let's see if Shannon Heffernan and Amy Ingraham can help get gritty Millis, which started the tourney at 9-11 and is now 13-11, past its next mountain in (2) Cohasset, with a 21-2 record on Friday night in Braintree.
New England Prep School Athletic Council Championship Results
Boys
Class A: Brewster Academy 69, Winchendon 65 (OT)
Class B: Tilton 73, Marianapolis 62
Class C: St. Mark's 62, Lawrence Academy 43 (Erik Murphy MVP)
Class D1: Hyde (Conn.) 57, St. Luke's 50
Class D2: Providence Country Day 56, Darrow 42 (Nick Calvino MVP)
Girls:
Class A: Kent 50, Nobles 42 (Sasha Gosenko MVP)
Class B: Suffield 36, Governor's Academy 29 (Sherell Allen MVP)
Class C: Proctor 52, Hamden Hall Country Day 46 (Katherine Fifield MVP)
Class D: Learning Center for the Deaf 43, Chase Collegiate 35*
* According to Maggie Cassidy in her story in the Boston Globe on March 3, "it was the first time in NEPSAC history a deaf team made it to the championship game."
Russ Waterman covers Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the New England Preps for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at rwathoop3@aol.com
