Wareham boys basketball beats Springfield International for program's second state title
LOWELL — For the first time in his head coaching career, Wareham’s Steve Faniel talked about a state championship on the first day of practice for the 2022-23 season.
“On the first day of practice, we went in there and said, ‘We’ve got to do whatever it takes,’” Faniel said. “We got close last year. We know what it’s going to take. We know what we’ve got to change and what we’ve got to improve on.”
The top-seeded Vikings delivered on their season-long goal with a 66-40 win over No. 3 Springfield International on Sunday afternoon in the Div. 4 state final at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
It was Wareham’s second state title in school history and the first since 2010 when the Vikings beat New Leadership.
“I’m speechless honestly,” said Elijah Carrion, Wareham’s lone senior on this year's team. “This was the goal and we did it.
“It’s great. We’re one of only two basketball teams at Wareham that can say we won a state championship.”
'A MILLION MEMORIES'A look back at Wareham's 2010 state championship team
Wareham junior Diego Mello added, “It feels unbelievable. It almost doesn’t feel real, but we did it. It means everything to us. All the way back to 2010 to now, we get to say we’re the ones who did it.”
Wareham dominated Div. 4 competition this year, winning all five playoff games by an average of just under 30 points per game.
“We put those expectations on ourselves and the community had high expectations for us,” Faniel said. “To be able to fulfill those expectations and beyond, it feels relief. It feels great. I’m proud of these kids. They did a great job.”
In the title game, the Vikings led by eight points after the first quarter and were ahead by 14 at halftime. Wareham outscored Springfield International 17-10 in the fourth quarter to put the game away and set off a jubilant celebration by the Vikings and their fans.
After the postgame ceremony, the Vikings jumped over their bench and into the crowd with their championship trophy.
“Back in 2010 there was a picture of them on the table and I was going to do that, but we just went out to our community to soak it all in,” Mello said.
Junior guard Ajay Lopes added, “Hopefully there’s a parade so we can hold the trophy up in front of all of Wareham. This was for Wareham.”
LOPES LEADS THE WAY
Lopes finished with a game-high 20 points and had a key sequence of back-to-back layups with a steal in between in the fourth quarter to make it 59-35.
“I think that was the dagger to be honest,” said Lopes, who scored 11 points in the second half. “After that I knew it was over. I knew we won.”
Lopes also had seven assists and did a solid job of getting his teammates involved.
“He’s always under control,” Faniel said. “He’s a team-first guy so he’s always trying to make the right play. Even if the right play isn’t his. That’s huge to have out there. He’s been a leader all year. He’s been great for us. He’s a great player.”
A FORCE DOWN LOW
As he has done all season, junior center Antoine Crosson controlled the paint on both ends. He scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
“I just tried to do my best to crash the boards hard,” Crosson said. “Their two bigs were aggressive so I tried my best to be more aggressive and get more rebounds.
“For me it means a lot. Last year I wasn’t doing much, but I feel like I improved and I was able to get the job done for me and my team.”
Crosson had 10 points in the second half with six coming in the fourth quarter.
“He changes the whole dimension of the team,” Faniel said. “He gives us a whole other option that we haven’t really had. To be able to throw the ball in the post and get baskets that way and to be able to rely on a guy who is going to get 12 rebounds every night is huge. He’s our rim protector too. When people go to the basket, he alters what they do. He’s a big part of what we do and we’re happy to have him.”
PREVIEWWhat Wareham needs to do to beat Springfield International for Vikings' second state title
KEY PLAYS FOR WAREHAM
Up just 6-4, Lopes scored five straight points on a layup and 3-pointer. Wareham extended its lead to 14-6 when junior Jayce Travers knocked down the first of his two 3-pointers in the game with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
A fast-break layup by freshman Aaron Cote to open the second quarter coupled with another Travers’ trey put the Vikings on top 21-8.
A Crosson basket in the lane in the final seconds of the second quarter sent Wareham into halftime ahead 34-20.
The Bulldogs never got closer than 13 points in the second half.
“Going into the game, we said this game wasn’t going to be a knockout punch in the first round,” Faniel said. “We said this is going to be a 32-minute plan. We thought if we could get them to play our style of basketball and go up and down and get them to play our way and our tempo, we thought we could wear them out. I think that’s eventually what happened. We wore them out and we were able to stretch out that lead late in the game.”
WHAT DID IT TAKE TO GET HERE?
“They worked extremely hard since last year’s Elite 8 game,” Faniel said of Wareham’s season-ending loss to Randolph in 2022. “It didn’t start the first week of practice. The preparation for this year started as soon as we lost. They were in the gym the next day working hard, getting ready for this year. They prepared themselves by getting ready and during the season they worked really hard.
“I thought we had a hard schedule this year and it prepared them for this run and when it was time to perform, they did it.”
Lopes said he felt like it was Wareham’s time.
“We knew we were going to make it far,” he said. “Last year we were young. We’re older now and more mature and we were ready this time. We weren’t ready last year.”
SAVORING THE MOMENT
With the game in hand, Wareham’s starters were taken out with 2:14 to play to the cheers of their fans.
“I was trying so hard not to cry when I was coming off the court,” Lopes said. “I cried at the end. I had to hug all my friends. We did it. We’ve been dreaming of this for so long.
“It was emotional because we dreamed of this since third or fourth grade. For us to win, it means a lot.”
Lopes joins his other brother, Justin, a 2019 Bishop Stang graduate, as a high school state champion in basketball.
“I hugged Justin too,” Ajay said. “For me and him to hug, it was a great feeling.”
WHAT A SENIOR SEND OFF
Carrion may have missed the Dave Cowens Award ceremony on Sunday night at GNB Voc-Tech because of the Div. 4 final, but he ended his basketball career as a state champ.
“We sent Elijah off with a state championship so we’re glad we’re doing that,” Lopes said.
Carrion scored four points in the title game.
“It’s special,” Carrion said. “I enjoyed playing with these guys. They are my best friends.
“As soon as I realized we were state champions, I cried and hugged everyone I could.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Wareham finished the season with an overall record of 22-3 and will graduate one senior — Carrion.
“It’s one thing to get to the top,” Faniel said. “It’s very hard to get there, but to stay there is even harder. We’ll take a week and enjoy this one and we’ll get back to work.”
Cote added, “We just worked so hard and I want to work hard to go back-to-back and do it again next year.”
NOTEWORTHY STATS
Wareham shot 45% (26 of 57) from the field and 61% (8 of 13) from the foul line with 12 turnovers. Springfield shot 28% (14 of 49) from the field and 48% (11 of 23) from the foul line with 13 turnovers.
GAME NOTES
Springfield’s Kenny Rogers fouled out with 4:53 left in the game. … Jay’Len Lovejoy had a dunk for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter. … Cote had three steals for Wareham in the first half. … The Vikings connected on six 3-pointers in the game.
Wareham 66, Springfield International 40
Springfield International
Jay’Len Lovejoy 2, London Denson 11, Josh Colon 3 (1), Sam Fleming 4, Kenny Rogers 12, Richardo Hylton 2, Erasmo Ruiz 4, Ke’Jour Gladden 2.
Wareham
Aaron Cote 8 (1), Ajay Lopes 20 (2), Antoine Crosson 14, Jaron Pittmen 2, Diego Mello 5, Jayce Travers 6 (2), Elijah Carrion 4, Jakwon Pittmen 4, Taj Lewin-Pina 3 (1).
Springfield;8;12;10;10 — 40
Wareham;16;18;15;17 — 66
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Wareham defeats Springfield to win 2023 Div. 4 state championship
