Boston, MA

State finals: High school boys basketball preview and picks

Published

1 year ago

March 15, 2024

State finals: High school boys basketball preview and picks

Franklin coach CJ Neely has coached his program to the state title game twice in his career. He is hoping the third time’s the charm.

Led by Hockomock League MVP Sean O’Leary, No. 3 Franklin enters its Div. 1 state title showdown with top-seeded Worcester North looking to capture its first state championship in program history.

Under Neely, Franklin has twice reached the final, falling to Cambridge in 2017 and Mansfield in 2018. This time around, however, the Panthers are deeper. Beyond O’Leary, the Panthers have sharpshooters Henry DiGiorgio and Andrew O’Neill, tough-nosed guard Bradley Herndon, and premier athlete Caden Sullivan. On the bench, the Panthers have Hansy Jacques and Justice Samuels providing key minutes.

Franklin is unbeaten in state with its only loss coming to West Orange (Fla.). The Panthers have defeated all four of their postseason opponents by double figures.

“It’s not the Super Bowl, but there are a lot more distractions in that you have a lot more fans than you had a couple weeks ago trying to get in and watch the games,” Neely said. “We’ve treated this final four as one of those holiday tournaments you play over the break. You just have to try and deal with what is directly in front of you.”

On the other side is Worcester North, the defending Div. 1 state champion and winners of 44 consecutive games. Amir Jenkins is one of the top guards in the state, with the dynamic duo of Joe Okla and Teshaun Steele inside. North blew through the competition for most of the season but proved it can handle adversity when it overcame a late deficit to beat Xaverian in the Div. 1 state semifinals.

Malden Catholic is hoping to finish off its three-peat on Friday night at 6 when it takes on Sharon in the Div. 2 state title.

The Lancers again are led by Boston Herald all-scholastic Matt Gaffney and Bo Moody. Ben Howard has become a reliable force inside while Messiah Johnson helps stretch the floor. If MC is to bring home head coach John Walsh’s sixth state title, they will have to take down a Sharon team that has weapons of its own.

Guard Jacob McLaughlin has played like one of the state’s best this postseason while forward Nate Katznelson is a 1,000-point scorer. Sharon has shown a flair for the dramatic as evidenced by Jackson Rava’s triple with two seconds left to lead the Eagles past Bedford in the semifinal game.

All season, Charlestown has played like the top Div. 3 team in Massachusetts and will look to finish it off when they play Old Rochester on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Townies have arguably the best duo around in Jaylen Hunter-Coleman and Jaylin Williams-Crawford. Old Rochester, however, has its fair share of marquee wins, knocking off Scituate, Div. 2 state semifinalist Somerset Berkley, and handling Div. 4 state finalist Bourne its only loss.

Speaking of Bourne, they are hoping to complete a season sweep of Wareham when it faces its longtime rival in the Div. 4 state title on Sunday afternoon. The Canalmen won the regular season matchup, defeating the Vikings, 71-61. Bourne is led by Leo Andrade, Mike Dankert, and South Coast Conference MVP Nate Reynolds.

Wareham, meanwhile, is the defending champion and has four starters back from last year. Ajay Lopes is a superstar as evidenced by his late pass in the lane to Antoine Crosser for the game-winning layup in overtime versus Millbury in the Div. 4 state semifinals.

It’s a battle of the top two seeds in Div. 5 as No. 1 Hoosac Valley takes on second-seeded New Mission on Saturday at 2 p.m. Hoosac’s Joey McGovern put on a show in the state semifinals, scoring 29 points in a win over Mahar. The Titans have won eight straight going back to the regular season and went on a 13-2 run against Pioneer Valley to clinch their spot in the final.

Division 1

Worcester North deserves the label of ‘favorite’ but this Franklin team has shown so far that it can handle anything thrown its way. Offensive rebounding will be the key to the game.

Pick: 57-52, Worcester North

Division 2

Based on how Sharon has played much of this postseason, this game is more of a ‘toss-up’ than meets the eye. It’s hard to go against John Walsh’s Lancers, however, who have yet to lose a postseason game with him at the helm.

Pick: 61-57, Malden Catholic

Division 3

Charlestown has been a top five team in Eastern Mass. for well over a month now. Jaylen Hunter-Coleman, Jaylin Williams-Crawford, and company put the capper on a terrific season.

Pick: 67-54, Charlestown

Division 4

We picked Bourne over Wareham in the state final going into the postseason and we are sticking by that. This has been Bourne’s season to remember since the get-go.

Pick: 70-63, Bourne

Division 5

It is hard to pick against New Mission, but Hoosac Valley’s only two losses all year are to a strong Monument Mountain team.

Pick: 68-61, Hoosac Valley

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Boston, MA

Soggy and Foggy to Mild – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

3 hours ago

March 31, 2025

Press Room

Soggy and Foggy to Mild – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Plenty of fog and patchy drizzle win out early this morning as a warm front is about to push on through. As it does, winds will kick in out of the south, increasing the breeze and increasing the warmth. Temps will jump into the mid 50s to mid 60s with gusts 30-40mph. The warmest air will be northwest of Boston. Fog lifts for many mid to late morning, with just a few isolated showers through the day.

Widespread rain moves back in tonight, with the heaviest between 9pm-3am. About 0.50-1.00″ falls tonight, clearing out around daybreak tomorrow.

Temps trend cooler tomorrow and Wednesday with drier air moving in.

More mild air, but also scattered showers are back Thursday into Friday morning. Right now, it looks like it’ll dry out and be mild, in the 60s, for the home opener.

More wet weather arrives over the weekend, especially on Sunday.

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Boston, MA

Boston weather: Downpours, warmer weather to kick off the week

Published

15 hours ago

March 30, 2025

Press Room

Boston weather: Downpours, warmer weather to kick off the week

Boston will see several warmer days and bouts of rain in the coming week, according to National Weather Service forecasts.

“(Monday) we’ve got a warm front that’s going to cross the area,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Hayden Frank. “Temperatures will be back into the 60s (Monday), and the main thing is late (Monday), there may be a few showers from time to time during the day, but it’s mainly during the evening that we expect widespread showers, perhaps some thunder and brief downpours across the area.”

Throughout the week, the greater Boston area is expected to see varied temperatures throughout the and some possible precipitation.

The high Monday is expected to kick off with a high of 66 degrees, NWS forecasted, with a low of 43 degrees. Patchy fog is forecasted throughout the day, returning Wednesday night.

The downpours Monday may lead to typical “ponding of water on streets, but no significant flooding or anything like that,” Frank said.

Tuesday morning the rain is expected to clear out, according to the weather service, leading to a drier period through Wednesday night.

“Temperatures may reach low 50s Tuesday, as some colder air moves in,” said Frank. “It will probably get down to freezing Tuesday night. And highs in the 40s Wednesday, with the continued dry weather.

“The next system comes in Wednesday night and Thursday, some showers,” Frank continued. “It doesn’t look like too significant or complete washout.”

Highs are expected to surge back into the high 60s Thursday and Friday, NWS forecasts. Thursday night will likely be warmer, with a low in the low 50s, and temperatures may drop back down into the 40s Friday night.

The typical high for this time of year is around 49 degrees, Frank said, but the temperatures through the coming week are “not too extreme” and “pretty typical for late March, early April.”

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Boston, MA

Boston Red Sox’ Superstar Sets Awful Record Through Team’s First Three Games

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2025

Press Room

Boston Red Sox’ Superstar Sets Awful Record Through Team’s First Three Games

The Boston Red Sox were beaten 4-3 on Saturday by the Texas Rangers, dropping to 1-2 on the young season.

In the loss, Rafael Devers continued his first week struggles. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and has yet to record a hit.

He’s also made some unenviable history, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Boston Red Sox DH Rafael Devers just set a major-league record by striking out 10 times in the first three games of the season.

Boston Red Sox DH Rafael Devers just set a major-league record by striking out 10 times in the first three games of the season.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 30, 2025

Still just 28 years old, there’s no reason to believe that Devers won’t figure this out, but it has been a tumultuous few weeks for him. First, the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, who has bumped Devers from third base to designated hitter. Furthermore, Devers dealt with a shoulder injury through a good portion of the spring and got a late start.

Now in his ninth season, Devers has been one of the most productive hitters in baseball over that stretch. He’s a .278 career hitter who has hit exactly 200 home runs. He has 639 RBIs.

He’s coming off a year in which he hit .272 with 28 homers and 83 RBIs. The Red Sox finished 81-81 last year but missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

However, the expectations are much higher this season after signing Walker Buehler and Bregman, as well as trading for Garrett Crochet.

The Red Sox and Rangers will finish out their series on Sunday afternoon at 2:35 p.m. ET. Richard Fitts, one of the Red Sox’ Top 30 prospects, will pitch against Jacob deGrom, who is making his season debut for Texas.

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