St. John’s, Milton, & Watertown Take Championships

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com | Saturday, March 14th, 2009

St. John’s Gets Over the Hump in Division I

The clock finally struck midnight for Cinderella as St. John’s put an end to Lynn English’s miraculous post-season run.  St. John’s was determined not to relive their fate from a year ago as they fell to Central Catholic in the 2008 final.  But this year would be different as they would go on to claim the division I title with a convincing 80-62 win in front of a packed DCU Center.  After going back and forth for the majority of the first quarter, St. John’s was able to go up by five at the first break.  They quickly extended that lead into double figures in the second and would continue to stay ahead by that margin until Ryan Woumn led English on a ferocious rally that would cut the lead to 33-28 going into the half.  When English opened the second with a 5-0 run the game was knotted at 33.  But that seemed to spark St. John’s as they quickly answered with a 6-0 run of their own keyed by a three-pointer from Anthony Trapasso.  By the end of the quarter, St. John’s had pushed their lead back to 9.  The fourth quarter belonged to the Pioneers as Matt Labove began to control things inside – tipping in offensive rebounds, slamming finishes, and blocking shots on the defensive end.  But it was sophomore Richard Rodgers who was the star on this night as he went for a game high 28 points.  Labove chipped in with 10 while David White and Trapasso each had 15.  Trapasso also did a tremendous job of defending Woumn in the second half. 

Milton Runs Away with Division II

Marcus McDermott opened the game on a tear and Milton didn’t let up for the next 32 minutes as they ran away with the Division II title game before finally knocking off Hoosac Valley 81-42.  Milton opened the game on a 16-2 run before Hoosac was able to cut it to six midway through the second quarter.  But that’s when Emmanuel Hutcherson began to really impose his will on the interior allowing his team to go into halftime with a 36-22 lead.  Hutcherson brought the Milton fans to their feet on a number of occasions but never more enthusiastically than with his baseline drive and consequent thunderous dunk.  Hutcherson continued to make plays around the rim on both ends of the floor to open the third and that, combined with the shot making prowess of Milton’s bench players, allowed the Wildcats to break the game open in that quarter.  The hero of the semi-finals, freshman Rene Castro, didn’t need to look for his shot as aggressively as in rounds past and to his credit was happy to play the role of the distributor.  McDermott continued to be Milton’s most consistent offensive threat, scoring a game high 20 points.  Hutcherson chipped in with 11.   

Watertown Defeats Sabis for Division III Title

The game went back and forth for most of the first three quarters, and when Watertown’s Kyle Stockmal picked up his fourth foul at the end of the third period it looked as if Sabis might be about to make their run.  Surprisingly, it turned out to be just the opposite.  Watertown opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run to create some separation between the two teams for the first time in the game.  But Sabis wasn’t about to go away easily as Andre King put the team on his back and did his best to lead them to a title.  But despite the junior guard going for an incredible 13 points in the last 75 seconds of the game, Watertown simply wouldn’t be denied.  As they have the for last three years, Kyle and Cory Stockmal led the way with their shot making, intelligence, and composure down the stretch as the Raiders iced the game at the free-throw line to earn a 68-63 win.  Benyam Kerman stepped up with some timely shot making for the Raiders, both behind the arc and at the stripe.  Andre King scored a game high 31 for Sabis, but Kyle Stockmal countered with 25 of his own along with 9 rebounds.  Kerman and Cory Stockmal contributed 20 and 14 respectively as Watertown claimed their second state title in the last three years. 

Cathedral Claims Division IV Title

In a game played earlier this week at the TD Banknorth Garden, Cathedral High School scored a dramatic victory over defending champions North Cambridge Catholic.  With NCC trailing by two points in the game’s final seconds they fouled Luis Tavares, sending him to the free-throw line with a chance to seal the game.  But when Tavares missed both, NCC suddenly had one last chance.  Eddie Maiben quickly pushed the ball to half court and then found Brandon Bowman streaking to the rim.  Unfortunately for the defending champs, his lay-up attempt would roll off the front of the rim to give Cathedral a 67-65 win and the division IV state title.  John Flakes led Cathedral with 17 while Bowman led NCC with 21.