Newman defeated Blair Academy (N.J.), 92-72, to finish the season with a 19-game win streak and 38-3 record.

Costello, a Michigan-committed 6-foot-10-inch forward from Medford who played his freshman season at BC High, led all scorers in the title game with 24 points, thanks to six first-half 3-pointers, adding eight rebounds and four assists.

Senior Chase Geremia, committed to Penn, scored 21 points on seven 3-pointers and was named tournament MVP. Illinois-bound senior Lucas Morillo added 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists in the final, giving him tournament averages of 21.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.

Newman also captured the NEPSAC Class AAA and NEBL championships this season.

Austin Prep senior Fope Ayo has been selected as the Gatorade Massachusetts Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-5-inch Reading resident, who is committed to Michigan, averaged 22.3 points, 17.3 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks per game for the Cougars, who went 8-14.

Ayo became the first player in Austin Prep history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and was named a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee. She is ranked as the No. 45 recruit in the Class of 2026 by ESPN.

“Fope is certainly an impact player,” said Proctor Academy coach Gregor Mackechnie. “She’s an intimidating defensive presence on the second line of Austin Prep’s zone defense, and has learned to use her body and length effectively to convert scoring opportunities on the blocks. From all of my interactions with her, I found her to be a high-character young woman.”

Ayo maintains an A average in the classroom, has volunteered locally with the Unitas Leadership Academy, and founded Sweet Desserts, an initiative that bakes birthday cakes for incarcerated juveniles.

The Dave Cowens awards, given annually to the top boys’ and girls’ basketball seniors from among the 17 South Coast schools, went to Wareham’s Aaron Cote and Apponequet’s Cece Levrault.

Cote led Wareham to its third state title in four years, and he was a starter on all three. After missing 20 games his junior year with an ankle injury, he returned to average 25.1 points, 4.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game while surpassing 1,000 career points. He is the second Wareham player to earn the honor, following Ajay Lopes in 2024.

Levrault became the third Apponequet girl, but first since Jen Smith in 2001, to receive the Cowens award after leading the Lakers to a school-record 21 wins and the Division 3 semifinals. She finished her career with 1,149 points and four South Coast Conference Blue division titles.

Joseph Case’s Emma Plante and Old Rocheter’s Emma Johnson were the girls’ finalists, while New Bedford’s Diego Montanari and Somerset Berkley’s Dom Taylor were boys’ finalists.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s 15th anual Western Massachusetts Player of the Year awards went to Sam Brigham of Pope Francis and Emersynn Cage of Longmeadow.

A two-year starter at Pope Francis, Brigham finished as the second all-time leading scorer in Western Mass. history with 2,107 points, including a school-record 48 during his sophomore season for St. Mary’s of Westfield. He led Pope Francis to the state semifnals this year, averaging 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals per game.

Cage finished her career with 1,220 points, despite tearing her ACL midway through her sophomore season. A four-time All-Western Mass. first team selection, she averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals per game this season, leading the Lancers to the state tournament.

Brigham and Cage will receive their awards during halftime of their respective games at the Western Mass. All-Star Games on Friday (starting at 5:30 p.m.) at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for students and can be purchased here.

▪ Longtime Brewster Academy boys’ basketball coach Jason Smith is leaving his post after 26 seasons to join the new Masters Academy, where he will serve as head coach of the boys’ basketball program, working under John Carroll. At Brewster, Smith won seven national prep championships between 2010 and 2020, winning more than 700 games and sending 25 players to the NBA. He is a three-time National Prep Coach of the Year, six-time New England Prep Coach of the Year, and five times has been named one of the 100 most influential people in men’s college basketball.

▪ Norwood girls’ basketball coach Kristen McDonnell, who previously won four state titles at Braintree and coached the Norwood boys, stepped down for family reasons, and Trevor Hass had the story.

After eight years coaching Malden Catholic girls’ basketball, Jay Keane announced he is stepping down. Keane coached MC since the inception of its program, leading the Lancers to their first Division 1 playoff win this past season and a 14-8 record. In seven varsity seasons, he led MC to the tournament seven times as they moved up from D4 to D1. He previously coached the Wilmington girls for eight seasons, going 120-60. He won his 200th game in 2025.

▪ After four seasons, Beverly boys’ hockey coach Andy Scott announced he will step down to spend more time with family. Scott led the Panthers to an 11-7-3 record and a playoff berth this winter, finishing his stint with a 32-43-7 mark. Cam Kerry recently wrote about how Scott didn’t let paralysis keep him from coaching.

▪ Lowell wrestling coach Nick Logan announced he is resigning after eight seasons. Logan helped build Lowell into one of the premier girls’ wrestling programs in the state.

▪ Springfield Central junior lineman GaVin English announced he has committed to play football at UMass. The 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pounder with a 6-9 wingspan will team up with former Central teammates Pope Watson and Joe Griffin, who both transfered to UMass.

▪ Former Fairhaven star running back/linebacker Justin Marques, who spent a post-grad year at Portsmouth Abbey after setting the state’s all-time touchdown record and leading the Blue Devils to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and one title, announced he will play at American International. The 5-10, 200-pounder was named All-NEPSAC after rushing for 805 yard and 10 touchdowns in just six games for Portsmouth Abbey.

▪ Medfield senior Eva Thomson committed to play field hockey at St. Anselm.

▪ Malden Catholic senior captain Abbie Poole signed her commitment to play ice hockey at Endicott.

▪ Somerset Berkley senior Alex Javier will wrestle at Bridgewater State. The 132-pounder won a Division 2 title last month.

▪ Andover junior Gus Concemi, a 6-4, 200-pound tight end and long snapper, will be transferring to Phillips Andover and entering the Class of 2028.

▪ Archbishop Williams sophomore David Santiago announced he will transfer to Lawrence Academy and reclassify as a 2029 prospect. The 6-2, 270-pound defensive tackle is from Pawtucket, R.I.

▪ Lynnfield junior Grant Neal, a 6-4 175-pound guard, will be transferring to St. Mark’s to play basketball and will reclassify as a sophomore. Neal averaged 21.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists this season.

▪ On Friday, Assumption will host the Spring Jam Classic: Friday Night Lights showcasing some of the state’s top high school talent. The night starts with a Top 20 girls’ high school showcase at 5 p.m., followed by a Leadership game, then the Top 20 Central Mass. showcase at 7, and Worcester vs. Boston (Part 2) at 8 p.m. The event also includes a vendor showcase and community resources.

▪ On Saturday, Quincy High will host the BABC vs. MA Select Teams games, with the underclassmen playing at 5:15 p.m. and the seniors at 6:45 p.m. The MA Select senior team features many of the state’s top hoopers: Central Catholic’s Javi Lopez, Wareham’s Cote, Burlington’s Matty Gray, Malden Catholic’s Aboubakar Nimaka, Medfield’s Thomas Behrman, Bridgewater-Raynham’s Cason Faulk and Cam Santos, Xaverian’s Thatcher Purdy, Hanover’s Ryan Mutschler, Attleboro’s Ladanian Rodrigues, Rockland’s Rophil Ngintoundem, Bedford’s Mekhi Volcy, Needham’s Ben Marino, Quincy’s Malcom McMorrow, and Abington’s Kingston Maxwell and Tyler Staiti.

▪ The Catholic Conference Showcase for football will be held from 5-8 p.m. on May 14 at a location to be announced.

▪ Registration is open for the Northeast 7v7 summer tournaments, which will be held from July 18-30 at Fitchburg, Berwick (Maine), Milton, and Peabody. The New England championship will be held July 30 at Peabody.

Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.

A local Massachusetts town board is stepping up for Bay Staters who approved the audit of the state Legislature, demanding House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka open their books.

The Reading Select Board has voted to send a letter to the top Beacon Hill lawmakers, expressing its “strong support” for the will of the voters to be respected and the legislative audit to be conducted, over 15 months after approval.

In November 2024, Reading voters overwhelmingly approved Question 1, with 66% of the 16,650 ballots cast, or 10,987 residents, in favor of the audit. That closely matched the 72% of Bay Staters who signed off on the measure.

Select Board Vice Chairwoman Melissa Murphy, who requested her colleagues to approve sending the letter to Mariano and Spilka, said in a Facebook post Monday that she hopes other local boards and councils across the Bay State join Reading in “urging the Legislature to honor the will of the voters.”

Murphy added that she finds it interesting that the Massachusetts Legislature is one of only four states that don’t follow public records law.

“You can’t do a (public records request) on a legislator, but they can do one on us,” she told colleagues at a meeting last week. “We don’t see their financials ever; they do their own private audit. It is clear that not only did Reading residents support this audit, but the residents of Massachusetts did.”

This comes as the fight over the audit remains red-hot on Beacon Hill.

Auditor Diana DiZoglio and Attorney General Andrea Campbell have been locked in a legal tug-of-war since voters approved the audit.

Siding with legislative leadership, Campbell has claimed that DiZoglio has not answered basic questions on the scope of the legislative audit. The AG argues that the auditor’s review may also violate the state Constitution.

The state Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month denied DiZoglio’s request for a special assistant attorney general to represent her in court – another setback in her legal battle to carry out the Legislative audit.

Campbell is representing Spilka and Mariano in the case.

The state Senate Republican Caucus has also called on Spilka to formally request the SJC to issue an advisory opinion “to effectively resolve any remaining issues” regarding the voter-approved Legislative audit.

Spilka and Mariano did not immediately respond to the Herald’s requests for comment on Tuesday about the missive from Reading.

“Reading officials understand that taxpayers deserve access to the government they pay for,” DiZoglio said in a statement shared with the Herald. “I commend them for stepping up to call out the outlandish lawbreaking by our Legislative leaders.”

Voicing his frustration over the lack of audit enforcement, Reading Select Board Chairman Christopher Haley highlighted how residents last year approved projects to build a new elementary school and a center for active living for residents 60 and older.

“If the five of us decided, ‘You know what? We’re not going to do it,’ that’s what’s happening with the audit,” Haley said last week. “The state approved something, and people are just making their own decisions, determinations, interpretations of how things should work.”

“This is just unbelievable that the will of the voters isn’t being endorsed on this,” he added. “It’s unacceptable. If any of us did that up here, we’d get called out.”

A Bay State man has admitted to possessing 10,000 counterfeit Percocet pills laced with fentanyl, according to the feds.

Lawrence man Joshua Morales, 31, pleaded guilty in Boston federal court to drug charges connected to a drug manufacturing ring. More than 10 kilos of drugs were found in the stash location.

According to the feds, law enforcement spotted Morales entering a residence in Methuen and leaving with a large orange bag. Investigators reportedly knew that the residence was an alleged drug distribution and manufacturing location.

While under surveillance, Morales then drove to a location in Lawrence, where he was apprehended. During a search of Morales’ vehicle, 10,000 counterfeit Percocet pills believed to contain fentanyl were recovered.

Also, law enforcement searched the Methuen residence and found an automated pill press, along with multiple kilos of counterfeit Adderall and Percocet pills believed to contain fentanyl and meth.

Law enforcement also recovered numerous items used in the pill manufacturing process, including cutting agents, blenders, scales, bowls and bags full of suspected fentanyl and meth powders and binding agents.