The MHS Boys’ Basketball regular season comes to an end with an overall record of 14-7 and are expected to play St. John’s Prep in the first round of state tournament at St. John’s Prep in Danvers. The team ranked #10 in the MIAA State Championships.
The first round of the state tournament resulted in St. John’s Prep beating Malden with a score of 62-84. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 15-13 with St. John’s Prep in the lead. With 3:47 left of first quarter, St. John’s Prep had a four point lead, 22-18. At the end of halftime, St. John’s Prep remained in command with a six point lead. At end of the third quarter, the score was of 61-43 with Malden still behind and St. John’s Prep up by 18 points. St. John’s Prep defeated Malden with a final score of 81-64.
Despite falling short, the team had a strong season as they finished 14-7 for their regular season and an overall record of 14-8.
Junior Robens Garcia explained that despite the season not going as he expected it to, he described the season to be “good” overall. Garcia continued to mention that he wished his team would have won the games early on into the season. As for himself personally, he wished that he would have “put a lot more work in.”
Similarly, Sophomore Cameron Lloyd added that the team should have won way more games than they did.
Senior Thomas Redwood, who described his experience playing for MHS to be a great one despite previously playing for Everett prior to transferring, and included one of the many memories shared with his teammates. When asked what some of his favorites memories are, he responded with “Honestly probably in the locker room, on the bus, just joking around having fun laughing.”
Senior captain Fern Berard along with Senior captain Malik Bissett both shared that having the opportunity to play at the Boston Garden for the invitational game [were] one of the many memories shared with the basketball team. Berard stated that “[He] never got a chance to play at the Garden.” Bissett explained that the Garden remained his favorite memory because he has been a Celtic’s fan since he was a younger child.
Berard said that not only has he shared memories with his teammates, but he also created a closer friendship with Senior captain Tyler Holness in which he said, “[their] chemistry is crazy”. Berard continued to state, “We’re all like a whole unit, we all look out for each other.”
When asked if any friendships have been developed over the course of the season, Bissett responded by saying “Yeah the whole team.” He continued to elaborate on how when he first was on the team, he had been “afraid” to talk to people and mostly kept to [himself] until his teammates started opening up with each other.
Garcia believes that his leadership on the team will change, taking into consideration that he will be a senior the following year. He explained how this will require him to “step up” and help lead his other teammates.
Lloyd also explained that during the state tournament, he “felt like we’re the underdogs” and believes that they are able to beat teams.
Taking into consideration that Lloyd is one of the two sophomores playing on varsity, he explained that he hopes to be a “way better” player with more confidence to shoot the ball.
Redwood advises younger players to “be confident, play hard like you’re next.” He added that the fate of the program is in their hands. Berard stated “Keep balling and stay confident. It’s your team now.”
Overall, the season for the Boys’ Basketball team comes to an end after having an exceptional season.
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