Massachusetts state previews

March 12, 2010 Kevin Doyle

Previewing the Division 1, 2, and 3 Mass. State Finals

The following games will take place at the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday (March 13th.):

Division 1: Central Catholic vs. Saint John's at 7:30

Division 2: Falmouth vs. Sabis at 4:00

Division 3: Wareham vs. New Leadership at 12:30

Central Catholic vs. Saint John's

Saint John's looks to defend their state championship crown, the Pioneers defeated Lynn English 80-62 last year, as they do battle with the Central Catholic Raiders. The Raiders, who hail from the Merrimack Valley conference, enter the game with a 24-1 overall record with the only blemish on their resume a one point loss coming at the hands of Bishop Hendricken. The Pioneers boast an equally impressive resume as they have a 21-2 record coming out of the Central Mass league.

Saint John's breezed through the Central Division tournament beating their opponents by just over 2 points per game. They defeated Worcester North 58-35 in the tournament final (Saint John's was 2-1 vs. North for the season). The first true challenge they faced in the postseason came in the form of a talented East Longmeadow squad led by James Bertier and guard Ryan Mickiewicz; the tandem accounted for 39 points against the Pioneers. East Longmeadow jumped out to a 9 point lead at halftime, but Saint John's outscored the Spartans by 15 points in the 3rd quarter. Behind one of the best one-two punches in Massachusetts in David White and Richard Rodgers (the duo scored 43 of their team's 70 points), Saint John's refused to let a barrage of 3-pointers by East Longmeadow get the best of them. White's mettle and leadership simply was too strong to allow his Pioneers to bow out before the championship game.

Central Catholic advanced to the title match by defeating Madison Park 59-50. The Raiders are, of course, led by one of New England's best in Carson Desrosiers. The highly touted future Wake Forest Demon Deacon came up big as always in the win as he poured in 20 points and corralled 15 rebounds. Desrosiers is clearly the biggest piece of the puzzle for Central Catholic, but one cannot overlook the Raiders guard Mike Alveres who is responsible for feeding the ball to Desrosiers and running the offense for Central Catholic. The X-Factor in this anticipated championship game will ultimately be whether Chad LaBove, Saint John's center and brother of Dartmouth forward Matt LaBove, can slow down Desrosiers. If LaBove can merely contain Desrosiers (stopping him altogether simply will not happen), the guard play of Saint John's should be able to take the game over.

Falmouth vs. Sabis

The Falmouth Clippers, known more for their hockey being from the heart of Cape Cod, have built a very respectable and accomplished basketball program under the tutelage of Paul Lundberg. The Clippers, fresh off a 62-55 victory over Salem, enter the Division 2 title game against Sabis with a 19-4 record coming out of the Atlantic Coast Conference-not to be confused with the same conference that comprises Duke and North Carolina. The Clippers road to the title game was not an easy one as they narrowly escaped Milton High School by a point for the championship of their conference tournament. Falmouth will certainly be challenged to stop the talented guard play of Sabis as Andre King and sophomore Kamali Bey have posed problems for opponents all year long. Sabis evaded Groton-Dunstable 45-44 in the semifinals. Sabis, who trailed 38-32 at the conclusion of the 3rd quarter, made a late game charge led by King to come away with the victory. King led Sabis with 16 points for the game.

Wareham vs. New Leadership

Wareham advanced past Bedford in the Division 3 semifinals by a score of 63-49 to advance to the finals against New Leadership. Jordan Rezendes, the gifted senior from Wareham, led the Vikings with 20 points, while junior Jules Tavarez contributed with 16 points. Bedford cut Wareham's lead to just 7 points midway through the 4th quarter, but Rezendes sparked a 12-2 run that sealed the game for Wareham. Wareham enters the championship game with a 25-2 record coming from the South Coast Conference and are currently riding a 16 game winning streak.

New Leadership, coming off of arguably the most exciting semifinal game for all divisions after defeating Whitinsville Christian 78-76 in double overtime, has gone undefeated this season against Division 3 teams (their only losses have been against East Longmeadow and twice against Sabis). New Leadership's Phillip Warrick exploded for 34 points in the semifinal game, and will certainly pose matchup problems for Wareham (he drilled 5 3's against Whitinsville Christian). Maybe the most athletic player on the floor for New Leadership, however, is senior Devante Vanderpool who can really stretch a defense when on the floor with Warrick.

If you have any comments to add to this article, please email us at comments@nehoopnews.com.

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