2023/24 MIAA Postseason Recap

Owen Carlson | Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024

The MIAA season came to an end last month with five new state champions being crowned. The highest prize in the state went to North High (Worcester) for the second consecutive season, as they knocked off Franklin 59-53 in the Division 1 Championship, which also followed a thrilling overtime victory over Xaverian Brothers in the semifinals. The Worcester North Polar Bears have not lost a game since 2022.

According to the MIAA Division 1 Power Rankings, North High sat well above the next highest team, which was Catholic Memorial, at the end of the regular season. Led by floor-general Amir Jenkins, a top-10 prospect out of Massachusetts’ class of 2025, the Polar Bears were stacked this year, with star seniors Joe Okla and Teshaun Steele controlling the paint throughout the season. We also got to see the start of freshman Keyshon Joyner’s high school career, who already shows a lot of promise. 

However, one name was bigger than the rest for this North High squad throughout the year: Carl-Hens Beliard, the only senior from the previous year’s state championship-winning team who passed tragically back in November. The Polar Bears dedicated the season to Beliard.

 

In Division 2 of the MIAA, Malden Catholic finished a largely imperfect year (11-9 after regular season) by dominating the bracket en route to the program’s third consecutive state championship, coming by a margin of 23 over Sharon. 

Matt Gaffney led a tough Malden offense as he did all season long, dropping 17 points to lead all scorers. Messiah Johnson also played a big role offensively, adding 12. However, the real attack came on the defensive end, as Malden kept Sharon star Jacob McLaughlin from scoring until the fourth quarter, by which point they were already leading by 29.

Despite Malden Catholic’s checkered regular season resume, they actually dominated Division 2 all season long, finishing well atop the MIAA Division 2 Power Rankings at the end of the regular season, indicating that their schedule included some tough non-league teams.

 

Charlestown defeated Old Rochester 61-40 in the MIAA Division 3 Championship, taking their first state title in almost 20 years. 

The Townies were led by sophomore guard Jaylen Hunter-Coleman and junior forward Jaylin Williams Crawford throughout the season, both tallying double figures in the championship game. 

Similar to the cases in both Division 1 and Division 2, Charlestown was the clear leader throughout the year, sitting well atop the MIAA Division 3 Power Rankings at the end of the regular season. 

 

In Division 4 of the MIAA, the pattern continued, as Wareham knocked off Bourne to win their second consecutive state championship 86-71. The Vikings were well in first at the end of the regular season according to the MIAA Division 4 Power Rankings.

The biggest names in this story were Ajay Lopes, Diego Mello, Jayce Travers, Will Halloran, Kyle Susko, and Taj Lewin-Pina, as they had been playing together since they were little. We also got to follow the continued rise of sophomore Aaron Cote, who looks to make more of an impact down the road.

Ajay Lopes captained the offense to a second consecutive championship this season as he put his winning skills on full display. Lopes was noted as having a quick first step and crossover by our scouts last June at the Elite 75, as well as his versatile scoring ability and effectiveness as a creator for others.

 

Division 5 was a little different, as Hoosac Valley and New Mission were neck-and-neck at the top of the MIAA Division 5 Power Rankings. The two teams expectedly met in the finals, and while the Hurricanes of Hoosac Valley had been given the #1-seed, it was the Titans of New Mission emerging triumphant, taking the championship game by a margin of 8.

Led by Jamari Toney-Simmons, who tallied an impressive 17 points, the title was the fifth in New Mission’s history. They look to continue their success in the coming years. 

Hoosac Valley’s Trevor Moynihan is a standout of note as the eighth grader was one of the top producers for the squad this season. He scored 14.6 points per game on 40% from three in the Hurricanes playoff run. 

 

Stay tuned as we continue our state-by-state championship recaps over the next few days…

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