Charlestown at New Mission

Well, I'm back again for the 5th year of CrunkDubHoops. I'm excited to see what happens in our Boston school system. It's always nice to shine some light on the inner city squads. Last night I headed out to Hyde Park to see what Boston's North division has in store for us this year. And clearly, after an off year, someone is ready to come back with a vengeance.

Charlestown was the Division 1 EMass North Section champion last year and would have went all the way if not stopped by Brockton in overtime at the Garden. This year they had to postpone their first game due to weather but these big boys were fired up so they had their official first game at New Mission. The Titans were pumped up as well coming off a victory in their first road game at Burke just the day before. So onto the action we go...

Both teams had to be overhyped for the near capacity crowd. They missed tons of layups to open. After a CTown timeout (6:50) and a harassing first 2 mins of CTown's backcourt, finally a score was made. Titans called a timeout (5:12) to regather themselves as well since all the steals they made in full court press led to missed layups. But when both teams finally woke up, CTown had at least 5 asts that led to post points, due to the fact that when they did get the ball over halfcourt, a big was always open. More than half the squad always pressured full court, so someone was always open. Captain and senior guard Taris Wilson had 3 asts just to forward Frederick Oliveira alone. It was a scrappy first quarter that had the Townies up by 2 to end the period.

Charlestown 17  New Mission 15

The Titans must have had an issue with holding a lead the whole quarter and giving it up to end the period. So to show their anger, they score 7 straight points to start the 2nd. This alerted Ctown to call a timeout (6:53) in which they put every last starter back in. Mission's dribble drive penetration proved too much to handle and with Fred Rivers securing the post at the other end, transition was only made easier for the Titans. They scored another 6 buckets before CTown called timeout (2:54). Rivers had 3 blocks in that quarter and a couple more to end the game later.

New Mission 40  Charlestown 22

To start the half Ctown called a timeout (5:14) because they weren't content with trading off points. At that points Mission had a 6-2 run going. Ctown proved very weak on the boards through the 2nd and 3rd quarters which isn't a good sign when more than half your squad is over 6'2 and more than half of the active players you are facing are under 6'0. The Townies forced a Mission timeout (2:23) after they capped off an 8 point run with a Taris Wilson dunk. That's when CTown started pressing full court. They had broke back under a 20 point deficit. New Mission junior guard Glenn Randall would lead in keeping the team's composure to end the 3rd including hitting 2 3 pointers from well outside the arc.
He finished with 10.

New Mission 55  Charlestown 39

Shortly after a CTown timeout (4:36) tried to stop the momentum of a 12-2 Titan run...both teams gradually sat their starters. The Titan bench made it just a lil bit worse after senior guard and captain Shaquan Murray had matched the 8 pt first quarter he had and led all scorers with 22. When it was all said and done, New Mission had gone 2-0 posting a win home and away.

New Mission 76  Charlestown 46

New Mission hopes to carry this momentum and teamwork into a hard week of practice. Their next games will consist of Nat'l powerhouse DeMatha Catholic (MD) and state power Bishop Guertin (NH) in that order just days after each other in holiday invitationals.

Interview to follow.

New Mission (2-0)- 76

Shaquan Murray 22, Glenn Randall 10, F. Rivers 9, A. Staniford 9
T. Lee 7, C. Mitchell 5, S. Nzerem 5, M. Allien 4, K. Harris 3, B. Ortiz 2

Charlestown (0-1)- 46

Frederick Oliviera 14, O. Benner 8, J. Edwards 6, T. Wilson 5
K. Platt 4, M. Spinola 3, J. Harper-Lopez 2, J. Joseph 2, J. Ramos 2

 

Brighton is Going Back!

Brighton came out of the North as a #5 seed and won the sectional playoffs. The team they faced came out of the South as the #1 seed. Scituate High vs Brighton High at the TD Garden for a shot at the MIAA  Division 2 state title in Worcester. Here we go!

In the early stages Scituate had all the intensity on their side. They brought a quick 8-2 lead to the Bengals who had to call timeout (4:15). After all Scituate had an 8 point run to start. But Brighton took a 12-6 swing to tie it up at the end of the period. John Foster of Scituate had 8 pts and 3 rebs already. Nick Simpson of Brighton had 6 points of his own to add to his 2 steals.

Brighton 14 Scituate 14       End 1

The Bengals took a 5-0 run to start the 2nd. That forced a Scituate timeout (6:12). BR 19-14
They would end that quarter with a slightly comfortable lead going into the half. Scituate's Noma Okundaye added 8 of his own that period. Both Foster and Prince Unaegbu of Brighton had 4 rebounds a piece. It was very physical under the rim.

Brighton 27 Scituate 21      Halftime

In the third, Scituate closed the lead to within one (3:33). Then they tied it at 33 (2:53). Brighton who was now in trouble called timeout after Malik James lost a crucial turnover out of bounds (2:40). At (2:02) Scituate took their lead back and went up 2. SC 35-33. 15 of the Scituate's 18 3rd quarter points came between Taran O'Toole and Okundaye. It was their lead to lose.

Scituate 39 Brighton 33      End 3

In the fourth, it got real. Either Brighton was going to have to play or go home. Scituate took a timeout (4:26) while being up 47-38. They extended it to 11 for the largest lead of the game. Brighton rolled into the double bonus (4:03). But from there they came storming back. The Scituate timeout (2:29) showed panic as Brighton who went on an 11-3 run between those timeouts closed to within 1. James scored 8 of those points. The Bengals were only down 50-49. At (1:09) James would hit a free throw to tie it at 50. Scituate took another timeout (34.5) when David Cox hit both FTs to put them up 2. Brighton would take a timeout (16.4) after an intentional foul was given. Cox would miss both of his FTs. Soon after James would hit both of his FTs to tie the game at 52 (8.4). James would follow that up with a steal and a basket to go up 2 (1.2). He would hit the "and 1" FT to complete the 3 point play. The ensuing inbound was deflected and once picked up went nowhere near the basket.

BRIGHTON BENGALS are going back to the MIAA DIVISION 2 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.

They will play Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Game Stats

BRIGHTON HIGH - 55

Malik James            21 pts  4/7 FTs  4 asts 3 rebs 1 stl
Nick Simpson         16 pts  3/4 FTs  5 rebs 2 stls
Daivon Edwards     13 pts  2/2 FTs  3 stls 1 ast
Mark Mojica           5 pts   1/3 FTs  3 stls 3 rebs
Prince Unaegbu                               8 rebs 4 blks


SCITUATE HIGH - 52

Noma Okundaye     17 pts  3/5 FTs   2 rebs
John Foster             14pts   0/1 FTs    7 rebs 1 stl 1 blk
David Cox              12 pts  8/12 FTs  3 rebs 2 blks 1 stl
Taran O'Toole        7 pts    5/6 FTs    3 stls 1 reb 1 ast
Ben McLarey         2 pts                     2 rebs
Matt McRae                                        3 rebs

Update

* Right now, I am working on getting post game interviews from my camera into my computer, so please bare with me.

2/20
City Semifinals
Brighton 63  South Boston 53   POG: Daivon Edwards 18pts
Southie notable: Phil Lodge 18pts

New Mission 53  Dorchester 47   POG: Juwan Gooding 21pts
Dorchester notable: Dakari Wornum 13ps

-Boys Boston City Championship at 630 tomorrow at Madison Park High School
Brighton Bengals vs New Mission Titans (Round 3) *Brighton has won both games this season.

2/15
Dorchester 72 Brighton 61 POGs: Khalil Newson and CJ Agnew-Carter (combined 41 pts)
Brighton notable- Nick Simpson 25 pts
-BR James sat first half...DOR Cora-Perez returned...senior night at Brighton
-Daivon Edwards scored 1001st career point via 3 pt @ 4:21 1stQuarter

2/5
English 63 O'Bryant 57 POG: Ernie Chatman 18 pts

2/1
South Boston 58 Snowden 50 POG: Phil Lodge 16pts
-Southie sweeps season series and holds solid first place in South Division

1/29
Dorchester 49 Boston English 35
POGs: 6'7 F Dakari Wornum 13pts and 6'3 G/F CeeJae Agnew-Carter 10 pts
-remain best in Central division and split season series

1/25
New Mission 83 Charlestown 57 POG: 6' G Shaquan Murray 21 pts
Charlestown notable 6'8 F Alijah Robinson 22 pts
- sweep season series

1/18
South Boston 54 Fenway 36 POG: 6'4 F Phil Lodge 13 pts
Fenway notable 6'2 G/F Ricky Smith 17 pts
- South Boston remains 1st Place South Division

1/15
Brighton 52 East Boston 43 POG: 6' G Daivon Edwards 25 pts

1/11
Dorchester 74 Boston Latin Academy 62 POG: 6'3 G/F CeeJae Agnew-Carter (13pts)
BLA notable 6'2 F Alex Guerrier (28pts)

1/10
English 91 Burke 56 POG: 5'8 PG Ernie Chatman 16pts (5 players finished with double digit points)
-moved to first place in Central division

12/27
Shooting Touch Tournament
@ Emmanuel College

#8 St. Anthony's 78 Brighton 42 POG: 6'4 F Nick Simpson 21pts (Brighton)
- out of town opponent ranked #8 in the nation

Christ The King 80 New Mission 54 POG: 6' G Shaquan Murray 13pts (New Mission)
- went up against the number one team in New York

12/21
Dorchester 70 Madison Park 54 POG: 6'7 C Dakari Wornum 26pts 28 rebs (Dorchester)
- improve to 3-1 before heading to Melrose

Stealing the Game Away

I know you all were ready for the rematch! Brighton has already won a game against them. It just so happened to be at home. But now it was time for New Mission to host. It was the perfect time for them to win. New gym, best team record in the city, ranked in many state polls and they hadn't beaten the Bengals in 3 straight games in 2 years. NM had beaten everyone in the city with the exception of them to this point. This game was not only at their house, but it was held with NO SPECTATORS ALLOWED! It sure didn't feel like no spectators allowed. With staff and students from both schools, various coaches and scouts watching as well, here we go from Hyde Park!

In the first, BR had few buckets and 2 of them were off of steals. NM had had a full court press in which the Bengals couldn't break to save their life. When they did manage to get thru the press, they missed almost every attempted shot. NM's sophomore G Juwan Gooding and senior G Percio Gomez led the push with a combined 13pts.

New Mission 22  Brighton 6

By (7:05) BR's senior PG Malik James had been caught stepping out of bounds twice on his own. After a back and forth struggle, NM called timeout.(5:14) BR then started deferring shot after shot from the outside so that they could drive the lane. It didn't start happening for them til over halfway thru the period. Because BR deferred so many long range shots they continued the turnover show, getting called for numerous last touch out of bounds calls and traveling. They were defeating themselves. In the end of the quarter, both teams had pretty much matched each other. PGs Juwan Gooding and Malik James both scored 4 points. SGs Daivon Edwards and Percio Gomez had 2 3s a piece from their perimeter baseline corner.

New Mission 36  Brighton 22

Not too much notable happened in the 3rd. BR had a timeout (5:31) after NM's senior Point-Forward Nathaniel Anderson was sent to the line twice and James had been caught traveling again. BR's junior F Nick Simpson and NM's Gooding put up 7 points for their respective squads.

New Mission 49  Brighton 30

NM called timeout twice (6:49) and (3:20). But at this point, the Bengals were onto something as they were within 10. NM 51-41 BR hit the bonus.(2:07) At (1:37) NM got a turnover while BR was now within 7. Enters BR's junior G Mark Mojica, who was lackluster from beyond 3 the first 3 quarters. He hit a 3 to put them within 4. NM 52-48 NM then got a turnover leading to BR's Nickerson Succes scoring a bucket.(49.1) BR's Edwards then gets a steal and the assist to Mojica for another 3. He hit. NM timeout.(31.0) BR 53-52 (BUT CAN THEY KEEP IT?!) Out of the timeout, Mojica AGAIN, with the steal which led to Simpson scoring 2. Mojica with another steal led to James getting fouled. From the line he makes both.(6.1)

GAME OVER!

Brighton 57  New Mission 52

Brighton wins after being down 20. They win the regular season matchups 2 years in row. 2 season sweeps. They are on a 9 game win streak after having lost an irrelevant game in holiday play. I say irrelevant because New Mission lost their holiday play games too. So, with the realignment of the divisions, the North will be the only division sending more than one team to the cities. More than likely, both will meet again. Last year, Brighton lost in the first round in near OT to Madison Park. No worries this year i the cities first round, as either English or Dorchester from the Central (teams they beat easily to win the South last year) and Snowden or South Boston are likely to emerge from the South division full of the weakest teams in the last 3 years of conference play. Brighton who returned most of their squad from last year's state title run (where they only lost by 4 and didn't have their start F Simpson) have to be thinking city and state title run. They are the only team to beat New Mission in the city and they did it twice. Bengals, is it gametime or what? Cities in less than 3 weeks . LET ME HEAR IT!!!    

Brighton - 57

Daivon Edwards 13, Malik James 12, Nick Simpson 12, Mark Mojica 10,
J. Jones 6, N. Succes 4

New Mission - 52

Juwan Gooding 21, Percio Gomez 12, F. Rivers 5, N. Anderson 4,
S. Freeman 4, I. Coleman 4, S. Murray 2

East Boston hosts Dorchester

East Boston until now was the only North team I hadn't seen. So I went to Maverick Sq. Dorchester was ready to give another North team a run for their money and Oh did they do just that! Here we go.

In the first, speed was definitely a factor. EB got steals early when doubling down on the guards with the ball. That led to quite a few transition buckets. But four 3s including two from G CeeJae Agnew-Carter kept the Bears lurking. He would finish the quarter with 8 points. EB's Will March however took firm control of the paint and couldn't be stopped in transition. He had 6 so far.

East Boston 18  Dorchester 16

The way the next quarter started off was just sad. Dorchester had countless times to rotate the ball. Almost every attempt to insert the ball into the paint from the wing as well as every cross court (wing to wing) perimeter pass was picked off or tipped by a Jets' defender. March continued his barrage of the paint although he had foul trouble. He had 8 pts in that quarter including 2 of 6 FTs. Agnew-Carter had another 5 points in that period which did nothing to boost the score.

East Boston 37  Dorchester 26

To start the half, the Bears had a 9-2 run to put them within 4.(2:21) An extra FT from junior G/F Sealy Leon and a bucket from senior G Jeduan Langston put them within 1. It was then that EB called timeout.(1:26) The Jets then entered the bonus.(1:16) A 3 pointer from G Dion Knight and additional points from G Pat Santos opened the lead back up to 4 to end the period.

East Boston 46  Dorchester 42

After a back and forth battle, DOR's Khalil Newson had put up 6 pts and Trey Moon added another 4 including the bucket to tie it at 53. This forced a EB timeout.(2:03) At (1:06) F Amilcar Guevara scored on a 3 point play. But a EB bonus foul sent Langston to the line where he made both to bring the Bears within 1 again. Then Agnew-Carter got a steal and timeout was called by DOR.(36.7) Langston, after missing a shot, got his own rebound and was fouled going back up. He made both FTs to put DOR up one. EB timeout.(10.9) A shot by sophomore guard Marcus Shaw put EB up one.(1.4) Langston at the buzzer missed it from the half court line.

East Boston 58  Dorchester 57

East Boston - 58

Will March 14 (2/6 FTs), Pat Santos 14 (0/2 FTs), Marcus Shaw 10,
A. Guevara 9, D. Knight 7, H. Connor 2, K. Sinatra 2

Dorchester - 57

Khalil Newson 14 (5/10 FTs), CeeJae Agnew-Carter 13 (2/2 FTs), Jeduan Langston 10 (6/10 FTs),
D. Wornum 9, S. Leon 4, T. Moon 4, D. Lee 3

English hosts Madison Park

To Jamaica Plain I went, to see the Bulldogs host the Cardinals. MP hasn't been doing too well this season. Not only were they currently last in the North but some of the Central division teams who aren't the powerhouse they are, were beating them. Would the same fate happen with another under the radar team?

In the first quarter, an English timeout was called (6:48) after MP's Terrell Matthews put up a quick 5 pts. That was followed by MP's David Stewart, who had 7 first quarter points, had a steal which led to 2 pts after making his free throw from the previous foul. Matthews who finished with 11 points that quarter and Jordan Gomes however racked up a couple early fouls apiece. ENG's junior guard Shaun Miller hit 2 3s that kept his team ahead.

English 23  Madison Park 20

In the second, MP hit the bonus (7:13). Trouble seemed imminent. This quarter showed a lot of turnovers where the ball was passed to someone who wouldn't move to it. Stewart and his post teammate Marcos Silveira headed to the bench when both racked up 2 fouls as well, but not before Stewart added 10 second quarter points. They wouldn't be the only ones headed there as ENG fell into the bonus (4:35) when freshman F Adam Torres received his 3rd foul. His teammates, senior F Frantz Francois and sophomore G Stanley Davis already had 2 fouls apiece. When the half had expired, ENG G Ernie Chatman had 10 points that quarter including 6/7 FTs. Miller added another 2 3s in his 7 point quarter.

English 44 Madison Park 41

After a lack of action in the first half of the 3rd, MP's Stewart and ENG's Davis got their 4th fouls. MP called a timeout (3:09) after the gap opened to 6. ENG was up 57-51. But here come the Cards when junior G Shaq Robinson hit a 3 to pull within 1.(2:02)  ENG's Francois then picked up his 4th. Matthews scored to stay within 1. He followed that with a steal and assist to Robinson who scored and gave them their first lead.(26.2) The MP Machine had come alive on the road.

Madison Park 62  English 61

In the 4th, ENG's senior C Braxton Gulley-Mabry hit a FT to tie it at 62.(7:29) Chatman then got 2 steals in a row, the first of which he made the go ahead bucket. The second one with the assist to Davis put them up 4. Next, MP's Matthews got his 4th foul. ENG's Davis's rebound off the missed FTs allowed him to make the next basket putting them up 6. MP took a timeout.(6:32) Following that, MP's Gomes picked up his 4th foul. But after, ENG's G Jerome Penn picked up his 4th foul, MP came within 3.(2:22) ENG hit the double bonus.(1:06) MP was within 4.(53.7) It was then they hit the double bonus. MP took a timeout still down 4.(20.0) Stewart fouled out.(3.2) ENG held their composure up 3 as Penn made a FT. The game was over and MP had lost to another big Central division foe.

English 81  Madison Park 77

English Bulldogs - 81

Ernie Chatman 22 (9/13 FTs), Shaun Miller 18 (4/6 FTs), Braxton Gulley-Mabry 14 (4/6 FTs), Stanley Davis 10 (1/4FTs), G. Williams 6, J. Penn 5, F. Francois 4, A. Torres 2

Madison Park - 77

Terrell Matthews 23 (2/3 FTs), David Stewart 21 (7/9 FTs), Jordan Gomes 12 (0/1 FTs), Shaq Robinson 10 (1/4 FTs), J. Bowden 5, D. Fernandez 2, K. Williams 2, M. Silveira 2