By: Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)
John Korte jogged into the locker room clapping his hands
while his teammates responded with a rousing ovation. The sleepers were
wide-awake.
On Wednesday night, Korte scored 28 points, corralled 10
rebounds, and totaled five blocks to lead Watertown past Burke, 66-61, in the
Division 3 State Semi-Finals at Burlington High School.
The Raiders, who entered as the No. 7 Seed in Division 4
North, are now just one away from their third state championship since 2007.
“One game away,” said Korte. “It’s just an incredible
feeling with this group of guys. We’ve worked our butts off. “
Watertown trailed the talented Bulldogs for most of the
evening but finally jumped in front 56-54 on a Korte drive with just under five
minutes to play.
Burke forward Bryan Desir (21 points, 6 rebounds) answered with a bucket
to even the score back at 56.
The score remained tied at 58 with four minutes left, but
Korte showcased his skills as a facilitator in the game’s biggest moment.
The six-foot-six Korte drove left, avoided a defender by
sidestepping to the middle, and dished a pinpoint pass to Yoseph Hamad who drilled a corner three to
give the Raiders a 61-58 lead.
Watertown stretched its lead up to five on two Gabe Spinelli
free throws but a Devante Jamison trey pulled the Bulldgos back within two.
Trailing 64-61 and 32.9 seconds left Burke had a chance to
even the score but Levar Williams and Marcus Akinkouye’s three-point attempts
clanked off the bank rim. Korte corralled his ninth rebound of the night before
Julio Fulcar swished two at the foul line to seal the Raiders trip to
Springfield.
Spinelli, a freshman, proved un-phased the moment scoring 10
fourth quarter points.
“I thought Yoseph’s threes were huge for us,” said Watertown coach Steve Harrington. ”(Gabe) Spinelli was huge for us and then (Fulcar’s) job on
(Williams) and then he iced the game with those free throws. That’s a very
tough team to guard and certainly to play against.”
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 12-4 lead on a Williams
corner three-pointer, and a Desir three-point play upped the Bulldogs lead to
15-5.
Burke’s lead stood at nine, 21-12, early in the second
quarter after another Desir basket, but Korte’s monster first half brought the
Red Raiders back.
Korte drove through the lane for two before splashing a top
of the key trey and finishing a fast break to pull Watertown within 25-22.
Burke’s lead stretched back out to eight on a Jamison foul line jumper, but Watertown closed on a 7-0 run highlighted by a
Korte three-pointer and a Henry Papadopoulos put back to trim the deficit to 32-31 at the half.
“I thought in the first half John Korte carried us,” said
Harrington. “I thought his (16 points) were the key. That kept us in the game
and in the second half, once we figured out what we were going to do on
offense, some other guys got some shots.”
In the night cap, Walter Dew-Hollis
gave the packed house their money’s worth, scoring 20 second half points as
part of a 26 point performance to lead Tech
Boston past North Andover,
65-57, in the Division 2 State Semi-Finals.
The win gives Tech Boston its first state
title appearance since 1976.
“Walter (Dew-Hollis) is my guy,” said Tech Boston coach
Johnny Williams. “He is my most valuable player. He is the brain, the heart,
the legs, the arms. We don’t go if he doesn’t go.”
North Andover held a 41-33 lead and
appeared to be in control with just over three minutes to play in the third
quarter.
As they have from the season’s
first day, the Bears found another gear when they needed it most.
Over the next nearly six minutes of
play Tech Boston went on a 21-0 run in which they forced seven Scarlet Knights’
turnover to go in front by 13.
Dew-Hollis proved the catalyst of the
Bears’ surge. After a Maurice Works driving layup, Dew-Hollis scored four straight
including a thunderous one handed slam to trim the deficit to two.
Moments later, Dew-Hollis put the
Bears in front driving to the lay up for two and knocking down a 15-footer to
give Tech Boston a three point edge.
Shamar Moore increased Tech Boston’s
lead up to five to end the third on a foul line jumper at the buzzer and
Dew-Hollis put the game out of reach early in the final stanza.
The senior guard tapped home an
offensive rebound before knocking down two at the free throw line.
Dew-Hollis capped off the burst picking
the pocket of North Andover guard Ogwuru and finishing at the other end giving
Tech Boston a 54-41 lead with five minutes left.
“I just had to hold my composure and not worry about the crowd," said Dew-Hollis. "I just had to play hard and play my game. It's not easy. We have to stay focused and be ready. You just have to play your best and hope to win."
Tech Boston jumped out to an
electric start with a Shamar Moore step back three pointer and two more treys
from Works giving the Bears a 19-8 lead five minutes in.
Out of a timeout, North Andover
started to click with 10 points from Jake McElroy helping to pull the Scarlet
Knights to within 22-17 after one.
The Bears lead stood at 27-19 after
a Lyron Bennett basket but the Scarlet Knights’ played their best basketball of
the night to close the half.
Kyle Moore splashed a high-arching
corner three and then followed it up with a jumper just inside the line off the
dribble to tie the score at 31.
North Andover then incorporated
forward Garrett Murphy into its offense, feeding the junior off the
pick-and-roll to go in front.
McElroy and Garrett Murphy capped off the half with
consecutive layups to put North Andover up 37-33 going into the locker room.
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