FOLLOW LIVE: Updates from Somerset Berkley, Malden Catholic boys basketball state final
- 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.
LOWELL — Somerset Berkley and Malden Catholic are playing for the Massachusetts high school basketball state championship on Sunday.
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.
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.
Stick here for updates throughout the game.
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 44
The 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 40
Colin 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 35
Both 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 33
Raiders 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 29
Huge 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 27
Dom 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 27
Timeout 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 21
Brendan 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 18
After 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 18
Abe 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 10
The 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 10
Taylor 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 8
Dom 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 6
Raiders 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 4
Brendan 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 4
The Raiders missed their five shots, but have now hit three in a row.
STARTING LINEUPS
Somerset Berkley
Dom Taylor (F); Max Finlaw (F); Finn Bjork (C); Brendan McDonald (G); Colten Pacheco (G)
Malden Catholic
Aboubakar Nimaka (F), Abie Camara (F); Ben Howard (C); Matt Gaffney (G); Mamadou Camara (G)
ROAD TO THE STATE FINAL
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.
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.
HISTORY
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.
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.
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports