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AI-assisted summary The game will take place at the Tsongas Center on Sunday at 4 p.m. Somerset Berkley is seeking their first state title since 1954, while Malden Catholic is aiming for their fourth consecutive championship. SBR is making its third trip to the state title game and first one since 1954. The Raiders won […]
- The game will take place at the Tsongas Center on Sunday at 4 p.m.
- Somerset Berkley is seeking their first state title since 1954, while Malden Catholic is aiming for their fourth consecutive championship.
SBR is making its third trip to the state title game and first one since 1954. The Raiders won the championship that season and won their first state championship in school history in 1948.Stick here for updates throughout the game.The Lancers and Raiders went head-to-head in last season’s Final Four contest. Malden Catholic came away with a two-point victory and went on to win their third straight state title. This is the Lancers four consective trip to the state championship game.Malden Catholic’s Matt Gaffney and Mamadou Camara played in last season’s Final game against Raiders. The Lancers ended the regular season with a 18-1 mark. Four of its postgame wins came against No. 32 South High Community, No. 16 Milford, No. 9 Doherty Memorial (4-1) and fourth-seed Oliver Ames in the state semifinal.
Final Stats
Dom Taylor led the way for the Raiders with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, while Colten Pacheco had 14, Brendan McDonald had 12 and Finn Bjork had 11. SB finishes the year with a record of 24-1, with their lone loss coming against Durfee in the Skip Karam Tournament, 60-56, on Dec. 28.
Aboubakar Nimaka led the way for the Lancers with 14 points while Matt Gaffney had seven, all of which came in the second half. MC struggled to get shots to land throughout the afternoon, particularly in the first half. Lancers three- year streak atop Division 2 comes to a close as they suffer their first loss since they fell 80-74 to Catholic Memorial on Jan. 21.”You’re the best”The Raiders ran with their trophy to the student section to thank them for they’re supporting yelling “you’re the best.”Final Score: Somerset Berkley 65, Malden Catholic 44The No. 6 Raiders pull off the one of the most emphatic upsets of the tournament, ending the top-seeded Lancers’ three-year reign atop Division 2 with a 21 point win. SB are state champions for the first time since 1954 and the third time in program history.1:32 left in Fourth Quarter: Somerset Berkley 60, Malden Catholic 40Colin Mannke hits a wide open layup to cut the gap back to 20 and the Lancers call timeout.3:06 left in Fourth Quarter: Somerset Berkley 58, Malden Catholic 35Both sides are struggling to get shots to drop for the past few possessions, but that’s much more to the detriment of the Lancers.6:20 left in Fourth Quarter: Somerset Berkley 56, Malden Catholic 33Raiders call the first timeout of the final quarter as the Lancer have outscored them 4-2. Offense slowing a little bit now as SB looks to kill as much clock as possible.End of Third Quarter: Somerset Berkley 54, Malden Catholic 29Huge end to the third quarter as Dom Taylor tips it in at the buzzer off a Colten Pacheco shot. Raiders have a commanding 25-point lead, outscoring the Lancers 24-11 in the quarter. Looks now like there’s just eight minutes separating the program from its first title in 71 years.1:31 left in Third Quarter: Somerset Berkley 50, Malden Catholic 27Dom Taylor has been on fire with the corner three, hitting another to help the Raiders crack the half century mark on the scoreboard.2:18 left in Third Quarter: Somerset Berkley 45, Malden Catholic 27Timeout called by the Raiders for a cut on Finn Bjork’s arm. Bjork has five of his seven points of the game this quarter. The Lancers have pulled back a little, with Abe Camara scoring four, but SB still in full control of this one.4:58 in Third Quarter: Somerset Berkley 40, Malden Catholic 21Brendan McDonald and Finn Bjork are leading the for the Raiders on both ends of the court so far this quarter. Bjork has four points while McDonald hit a nice under-the-leg layup. The two both go to the line within 30 seconds of each other, going a combined 2-for-4. Matt Gaffney gets on the score sheet via a free throw with 4:58 left in the third quarter, going 1-for-2 from the line.Halftime: Somerset Berkley 32, Malden Catholic 18After starting a little slow, the Raiders heat up and don’t look back as they head into the break up 14. Colten Pacheco leads the way so far with 11 points while Dom Taylor has 10 and Brendan McDonald has seven. Lancers had a little more luck with getting shot to drop in the last few minutes before the half, with Aboubakar Nimaka leading the way with 10. MC will hope Navy commit Matt Gaffney heats up in the second half as the defense works to slow SB.0:30 left in Second Quarter: Somerset Berkley 32, Malden Catholic 18Abe Camara is starting to put some points on the boards for the Lancers, and just had a nice assist to an Aboubakar Nimaka layup as well. Foul called against the Raiders puts the ball back in MC’s hands.3:57 left in Second Quarter: Somerset Berkley 29, Malden Catholic 10The Lancers are getting offensive rebounds, but they still can’t get shots to drop. Meanwhile, it seems everything the Raiders are putting up is going down. Colten Pacheco had a nice breakaway layup to continue SB’s strong first half.5:06 left in Second Quarter: Somerset Berkley 27, Malden Catholic 10Taylor hits a second-straight 3-pointer to increase the Raider lead to 17 as the Lancers call time out.6:08 left in Second Quarter: Somerset Berkley 21, Malden Catholic 8Dom Taylor hits a wide open through for the Raiders, giving his team their biggest lead of the game so far.End of First Quarter: Somerset Berkley 14, Malden Catholic 6Raiders started off the quarter hitting six of their first 14 shots, then heated up to hit six of their last nine. Brendan McDonald led the way in the later part of the quarter with seven points. The Lancers have struggled to get shots to fall in the first quarter, going just 2-for-14.3:20 left in First Quarter: Somerset Berkley 10, Malden Catholic 4Brendan McDonald hits a perfectly shot 3-pointer from the top of the key as the SB faithful erupt.4:20 left in First Quarter: Somerset Berkley 7, Malden Catholic 4The Raiders missed their five shots, but have now hit three in a row.STARTING LINEUPSSomerset BerkleyDom Taylor (F); Max Finlaw (F); Finn Bjork (C); Brendan McDonald (G); Colten Pacheco (G)Malden CatholicAboubakar Nimaka (F), Abie Camara (F); Ben Howard (C); Matt Gaffney (G); Mamadou Camara (G)
ROAD TO THE STATE FINAL
LOWELL — Somerset Berkley and Malden Catholic are playing for the Massachusetts high school basketball state championship on Sunday.
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports
HISTORY
The Raiders and the Lancers will play at 4 p.m. at the Tsongas Center in the MIAA Division 2 state final. Somerset Berkley is the No. 6 seed, while Malden Catholic is No. 1.Following a 19-1 record in the regular season, the South Coast Conference Blue champion Raiders won their first three playoff games against No. 27 Minnechaug Regional, No. 11 Leominster and No. 3 Pope Francis Prep. SBR pulled out a second half come-from-behind win over No. 7 Masconomet Regional in the state semifinals.The Raiders are vying for their third state title in program’s history and first since 1954 when they won it all. Somerset Berkley won its first state title in 1948.
High School Sports
High School Scoreboard, results from Tuesday, May 13
Castle Rock Pitching — Jerry Neighbors 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 6 BB; Owen Erickson 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Jacob Lafever 1-3, R, 2B, SB; Jack Kerker 1-2, R, RBI; Noxx Worrell 1-3, R; Stuart Teter 1-3; Tristan Honey 1-1, R, RBI, SB. SOFTBALL […]
Castle Rock
Pitching — Jerry Neighbors 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 6 BB; Owen Erickson 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Jacob Lafever 1-3, R, 2B, SB; Jack Kerker 1-2, R, RBI; Noxx Worrell 1-3, R; Stuart Teter 1-3; Tristan Honey 1-1, R, RBI, SB.
SOFTBALL
3A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE
Third-place tiebreaker
Heritage 9, Mountain View 3
HERITAGE 9, MOUNTAIN VIEW 3
Heritage 103 301 1—9 13 1
Mt. View 002 010 0—3 6 4
Heritage
Pitching — Jaila Ellis 7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 0 BB, win. Highlights — Skyler Jones 2-4, run, 2B, RBI, BB; Jaila Ellis 1-4, 2 runs, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; Kylie Thomas 3-3, 2 runs, RBI, BB; Lillie Stroup 2-3, run, 2B, RBI, BB; Gracie Peterson 2-4, run, 2 RBI; Emma Messing 2-4, 2 RBI; Veronica Ayala 1-4.
Mountain View
Pitching — Peyton Lalande 7 IP, , 4 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, loss. Highlights — Izzi West 2-4, 2 runs, 2B; Peytonb Lalande 3-3, run, 2 RBI; Amaya Paschal 1-3.
2A DISTRICT PLAY-IN GAMES
Tuesday’s Games
Black Hills 14, R.A. Long 0
W.F. West 21, Hockinson 0
W.F. WEST 21, HOCKINSON 0
Hockinson 000 00 —-0 2 6
WF West 700 (14)x —21 7 0
Hockinson
Highlights — Samantha McDonald 1-2; Cassidy Barrows 1-2.
BLACK HILLS 14, R.A. LONG 2
Black Hills 126 05 —14 8 2
RA Long 000 20 —2 2 7
R.A. Long
Highlights — Stevie Jones 1-2, run, 3B, RBI; Kace Prindle 1-2.
BOYS SOCCER
4A BI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
at Sumner HS
Union 5, Puyallup 4, OT
Tahoma 6, Olympia 0
Loser-out
Sumner 2, Auburn Riverside 1
Camas 3, Mount Rainier 0
Kentridge 2, Emerald Ridge 0
Curtis 1, Stadium 0
Thursday’s matches
Championship
Union vs. Tahoma, 7:30 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Winner-to-state matches
At Art Crate Field, Spanaway
Camas vs. Sumner, 5:30 p.m.
Kentridge vs. Curtis, 7:30 p.m.
3A BI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Central Kitsap 1, Bellarmine Prep 0
Heritage 1, Silas 0
Loser-out
Kent Meridian 2, Federal Way 1
Auburn Mountainview 5, Decatur 1
Gig Harbor 5, Enumclaw 1
Mountain View 3, White River 1
Thursday’s matches
Championship
Heritage vs. Central Kitsap, 5:30 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Winner-to-state matches at Auburn HS
Kent Meridian vs. Auburn Mountain View, 5:30 p.m.
Gig Harbor vs. Mountain View, 7:30 p.m.
2A DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
W.F. West 2, Tumwater 1
Columbia River 3, R.A. Long 1
Loser-out matches
Hockinson 6, Hudson’s Bay 1
Ridgefield 4, Aberdeen 3, OT-PKs
Thursday’s matches
Championship
W.F. West at Columbia River, 6 p.m.
Winner-to-state games
R.A. Long at Hockinson, 6 p.m.
Ridgefield at Tumwater, 5:30 p.m.
COLUMBIA RIVER 3, R.A. LONG 1
Columbia River
Goals (assists) — Beckham Young (JP Guzman), Tyler Brown (Johnny Avalos), Brown (Mason Renner). Goalkeeper saves: Eli Smith, 3
High School Sports
HIGHLIGHTS
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Western Hockey League Championship series returned to Spokane for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, as the Chiefs hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers for Game 3 with the series tied at one apiece. Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer said his team would be ready to play in front of the […]
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Western Hockey League Championship series returned to Spokane for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, as the Chiefs hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers for Game 3 with the series tied at one apiece.
Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer said his team would be ready to play in front of the home crowd for the first time this series, but Spokane looked anything but prepared.
The Tigers came out aggressive, even without WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna, who took warmups but left the ice early and was scratched from the lineup.
With about eight minutes left in the first, Medicine Hat killed off a Chiefs power play and immediately capitalized, beating Dawson Cowan with a laser from the dot.
Riding that momentum, the Tigers tacked on another goal with less than two minutes remaining in the period as Hunter St. Martin found the back of the net.
After one, the Chiefs were outshot 15-5 in a frame where they struggled to establish anything in the offensive zone.
The second period brought more of the same. Just 93 seconds in, Kadon McCann buried a wraparound to make it 3-0. Spokane didn’t register a shot on goal until 11:45 remained in the period, as Medicine Hat’s defense clamped down and their offense kept pushing.
Liam Ruck extended the lead to 4-0 before the intermission. By the end of the second, the Chiefs had managed just eight shots to the Tigers’ 17, with the total reaching 32-13 in favor of the visitors.
Cowan was replaced by backup Carter Esler to start the third, but the change did little to stem the tide. Esler surrendered the second shot he faced, giving the Tigers a 5-0 advantage just 30 seconds into the period.
Medicine Hat defender Bryce Pickford added another midway through the third — his sixth goal in as many games — sealing a 6-0 shutout. It was Spokane’s first scoreless outing since Oct. 28, 2024, and first at home since Nov. 29, 2023.
“To be pretty honest, we weren’t very good as a group,” Lauer said. “It’s one of those things. I thought Medicine Hat had probably their best game so far in the series. I thought they came and had a lot of jump and were skating. You know, for us, we were on our heels.”
Spokane showed a bit more urgency in the final frame, firing 15 shots, but still couldn’t solve Tigers goalie Ethan McCallum. The Chiefs finished with 28 shots to Medicine Hat’s 45.
“We haven’t given up that many shots or had that less of shot all year, I don’t think,” Lauer said. “It’s 11 shots after two periods. We weren’t playing as a group. It was all individual hockey. A lot of stuff that was uncharacteristic of us as a group tonight. For some reason, I don’t know why. We’ll dissect it here tonight and tomorrow morning to figure things out and make sure we’re ready tomorrow.”
The WHL doesn’t keep track of time of possession in the offensive zone, but if it did, it wouldn’t have looked good for the Chiefs, who struggled mightily to get anything going on offense with several turnovers in the o-zone and sloppy play most of the night.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t know what, as a coach, you don’t know what to put your finger on, what it was, or what it is, but you gotta have a short memory,” Lauer said.
“I think we know that we weren’t very good as a group, especially coming back to home ice. You thought you have an opportunity to take advantage of the team, but you know, it’s one of those things. That’s why you’ve got to play the game. It doesn’t happen automatically and we’ve got to learn from tonight.”
There’s little time for the Chiefs to dwell on the loss, with Game 4 set for Wednesday at Spokane Arena. The Tigers will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, while Spokane aims to even the series.
“We get to come back tomorrow, so that’s the beauty of playoff hockey, and that’s what we’re looking at it,” Chiefs captain Berkly Catton said. “Learning from tonight, but also flushing it and coming out ready to play tomorrow.”
“Brad and Berks kind of said it, I think a big thing for us is just have a short memory,” a Chiefs left winger added. “That’s all we can really do. Learn from our mistakes tonight and just be eager to have a better start tomorrow.”
Puck drop for Game 4 of the WHL Final is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Spokane Arena.
As for McKenna’s status, Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins wasn’t optimistic following the game.
“I’m not gonna talk about what the injury was. He was out,” Desjardins said. “I thought he might be able to go but just wasn’t tonight and the nice thing for us is he’s been such a big part of our team all year, it was really nice to rally behind and get one for him because he’s gotten quite a few for us. The boys are playing for him.”
You learned about it on SWX.
| April 27, 2025
(via @noseyone4/X)
