Ryan Woumn scored 39 points and made 18-of-22 foul shot attempts to lift Lynn English (25-2) over Brockton in Easter Division 1 boys action, 90-83 in overtime, ending the Boxers' 23-game win streak.
The Boxers put on a frantic rally late in the fourth quarter, coming back from a 72-60 deficit to tie the score and send the game into the four-minute extra session. Henry Vargas, who also made a 45-foot buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter, led the charge by scoring nine of his team-high 20 points in the final period.
But Woumn, a junior guard, and Jeremy Subervi (12) combined for 13 of the Bulldogs' 15 points in overtime for the win.
"That's why he is the captain," Bulldog head coach Buzzy Barton said. "He just thought it was time for him to step it up and take it to another level.
"We took a tough road to get here. We had to beat Cambridge (67-65), Lowell (74-64) and Central Catholic (71-60), the defending state champion, and now Brockton. Now it's time to go on and win the state championship."
Eastern Division 2 Boys
With Milton trailing, 65-59, with 2:38 remaining, freshman guard Rene Castro went on a scoring rampage, accounting for 11 points the rest of the way, including three hoops for seven points in the last 58.6 seconds, thrusting the Wildcats to a frantic 70-69 win over Woburn. Castro's last hoop, a 10-foot fadeaway with nine seconds left, was the clincher.
Still wearing his junior varsity uniform and only on the varsity the past eight games, Castro set off a celebration in a game sealed only when Gabe Blanchette stripped the ball from Woburn 6-5 star forward Hanel Velez (33 points and six 3-pointers) on a final desperate 3-point attempt.
“I’ve had good luck through the tournament, so I didn’t want the varsity uniform,” said the young guard who had a team-high 23 points. “I wanted to win because this is their (seniors) last year. I wanted to get the victory just for them.”
Emanual Hutcherson had 17 and Marcus McDermott added 15 for the Wildcats.
Central/Western Division 1 Boys
Utilizing superior height and depth, St. John's finally pulled away from Western Massachusetts champion Central for a 67-54 triumph. Anthony Trapasso scored 19 points and Richard Rodgers added 18 more for the Pioneers, whose imposing 6-9 center Matt Labove also caused constant problems in the paint.
Central/Western Division 2 Boys
Robbie Burke scored 22 points, including 18 in the first half, to spark Hoosac Valley (21-3) to a victory over St. Bernard's. Nick Aitken also contributed 12 points, all on three-pointers, and Dalton Larabee and J.J. Duval added 10 each.
Eastern Division 3 Boys
Watertown (21-4) got double-digit scoring from four starters, including a team-high 24 points from Kyle Stockmal, along with stiff defense to defeat Abington (23-3), 67-51. Green Wave guard Ryan Chambers, who scored 33 points in the team's South sectional title win over Scituate, was held to just five points. Richard Morrisey added 15 points, Cory Stockmal 14 and Marco Coppola 12, all on 3-pointers, for the winners.
Central/Western Division 3 Boys
Sabis (23-1) advanced to the state championship with a 64-51 win over Central Massachusetts champ Sutton, 64-51, behind 19 points by freshman Kamali Bey, 18 by Anthony Click and 17 by Andre King. Jon Copeland led the Sammies (21-4) in scoring with 17 points. Sabis now hopes to avenge its only loss of the season against Watertown in the finals. The Eastern Massachusetts champs defeated Sabis at the HoopHall Classic in January.
Division 4 Boys State Championship
John Flakes scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the final quarter to help Cathedral claim the state title by outlasting 2008 state champion, North Cambridge Catholic, 67-65. Robinson Vilmont had 21 and Brandon Bowman 19 for NCC.
Central/Western Division 1 Girls
Shepherd Hill (21-3) dug in defensively to defeat East Longmeadow, 40-36. Mary Barbale and Megan Boutillette each had nine points and Nicole Caron and Ali Tyburski added seven in a balanced attack for the victors.
Eastern Division 1 Girls
Katie Zenevitch had 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Central Catholic (21-3) which turned a close game at halftime into a rout by outscoring Brockton, 41-12, in the second half to race to a 75-45 win.
Central/Western Division 2 Girls
Julie Frankian paced Millbury with 16 points, including four shots from beyond the arc, to boost the Woolies to a 51-37 win over Monument Mountain and a return trip to the finals.
Eastern Division 2 Girls
Notre Dame Academy, seeded No. 7 in the South to begin the tourney, continues its great run to the state title game following a 46-38 conquest of Arlington Catholic. Kelsey Reilly had 14 points, Jessica Aruda 12 and Nellie Kennedy 11 for the victors while Kelsey Roberson for Arlington Catholic led all scorers with 20.
Central/Western Division 3 Girls
Undefeated Quaboag (25-0), seven-time Central Massachusetts Division III champions, spurted ahead by as much as 23 points after three quarters and cruised to a 60-45 victory over Lee to qualify for its fourth trip to the finals in six years. The Cougars were led by Olivia Jenkins with 18 points and five three-pointers followed by Sam McCann with 16 points and Meaghan O'Keefe with 12.
Eastern Division 3 Girls
Allie Beaulieu (23 points), Kara Gilberg (22), and Tara Nimkar (17) did almost all the scoring for Swampscott to end defending state champion Archbishop Williams' reign, 67-51, and post their first Eastern Massachusetts title.
Division 4 Girls State Championship
Molly Breen had 28 points and 9 rebounds and Amy Ingraham finished with 18 points to lead Millis (19-6) to the Division 4 state title, over Georgetown, 60-43.
2009 MIAA Boys and Girls Basketball State Championships
Saturday, March 14, DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Girls
10:45 a.m.: Division 3- Quaboag (24--0) vs. Swampscott (22-2)
2:15 p.m.: Division 2- Millbury (24-1) vs. Notre Dame Academy (20-5)
5:45 p.m.: Division 1-- Shepherd Hill (21-4) vs. Central Catholic (21-3
Boys
12:30 p.m.: Division 3- Watertown (21-4) vs. Sabis (23-1),
4:00 p.m.: Division 2- Milton (21-4) vs. Hoosac Valley (21-3)
7:30 p.m.: Division 1- St. John's (21-6) vs. Lynn English (25-2 )
