PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) Tops Holy Name in D1 Central Semifinal

Photos by Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

Earlier today, St. John's (Shrewsbury) fended off a Holy Name upset bid to punch its ticket back to the Division 1 Central finals. You can check out our full story on the Pioneers' big win here, or continue below for our photo gallery from the game.

You can click on any photo to enlarge.

Late Surge Lifts Franklin Past St. Peter-Marian in D1 Central Semis

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

WORCESTER, Mass. - It wasn't easy, but eventually Franklin's defense and outside shooting overwhelmed St. Peter-Marian in Sunday's Division 1 Central semifinal at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Powered largely by a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter, Franklin overcame a four-point halftime deficit to knock off St. Peter-Marian 54-44. The Panthers move on to face St. John's (Shrewsbury) in the D1 Central Friday at Worcester State.

The Local Sports Lunchbox: NFL Draft Prospect Tyler Catalina & The T&G's Carl Setterlund

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

This week on "The Local Sports Lunchbox" on WPKZ, I had the chance to chat with local NFL Draft prospect Tyler Catalina. Now training at Exceed SPF in Westboro, Catalina just finished up a year of starting at left tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs, after three years of starting for the University of Rhode Island. An alum of Wachusett Regional, Catalina has the chance to give Central Mass another NFL player in the coming months.

In our second and third segments I spoke with Carl Setterlund about all things CMass hoops, including tonight's Clark Tournament semifinals, the finals of the Worcester City Tournament, and teams that could make a surprising run when the state tournament begins next week.

For all that, and more, listen in below.

Algonquin Clinches Mid-Wach A in Win Over Shepherd Hill

The Tomahawks will now head to the state tournament riding a six-game winning streak.

By Jason Siegel (@jasiegel1821)

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - Entering the fourth quarter of Algonquin’s regular season finale against Mid-Wach A rival Shepherd Hill, it looked like the Tomahawks and their fans would have to wait for the result of the Wachusett-Worcester North game to see if the T-Hawks won an outright Mid-Wach A regular season title.

However, Algonquin (14-6, 7-1 Mid-Wach A), bounced back from a 50-43 deficit at the start of the fourth period to out score Shepherd Hill (5-14, 1-7 Mid-Wach A) 23-8 over the final 8 minutes. The T-Hawks would go on to pick up a 66-58 victory on Wednesday night at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, clinching the Midland-Wachusett A regular season title in the process.

Postgame Blog: Resilient Algonquin Scores Upset at St. John's (Shrewsbury)

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

SHREWSBURY, Mass. - Inexperienced, undersized and playing in one of the toughest venues in the state, it would have been easy for Algonquin to fold on multiple occasions Friday night.

But, no matter how many times it looked like favored St. John's (Shrewsbury) was going to run away with a 13th consecutive victory, the Tomahawks kept clawing back, and eventually made enough plays down the stretch to score a 74-71 victory, and put Central Massachusetts on notice.

It was actually the first time all year the T-Hawks had trailed going into the fourth quarter, but Algonquin's coach knew his young team was prepared.

Mendes and Cappadona Lead Marlboro Past Groton-Dunstable

By Jason Siegel (@jasiegel1821)

MARLBORO, Mass.- With four teams in Mid-Wach B (Nashoba, Westborough, Groton-Dunstable, and Marlborough) having at least eight wins, the best way to separate them is to see the results when two of the teams go head-to-head.

On Friday night in Marlborough, the Marlborough Panthers (9-2, 4-0 Mid-Wach B) added a 66-48 victory over the Groton-Dunstable Crusaders (8-2, 2-2 Mid-Wach B) to their résumé.

In a game where Marlborough led from start to finish, the Panthers were paced by starting guards Joao Mendes and Owen Cappadona. Mendes led all scorers with 22 points, while Cappadona contributed 19 points and 8 rebounds.

The Local Sports Lunchbox: Shrewsbury Hockey, Nashoba Wrestling and More

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We had a fantastic Local Sports Lunchbox earlier today on WPKZ, and if you missed it live, you'll definitely want to check it out now. We were joined by Shrewsbury hockey stars Matty Ward and Liam Quinlivan, who will look to help Shrewsbury hockey avoid the "Joe Parello jinx" (the last two weeks our guests came into the show undefeated, then suffered multiple losses immediately thereafter) against rival Algonquin Saturday.

We also had SuiteSports reporter Jason Siegel on the show to talk Central Mass hoops, and gave out our weekly awards, which included Nashoba wrestler Lucas Cordio, who may be the best athlete in Central Mass you've never heard of.

All that, and more, in this week's episode below.

Nashoba Hands Groton-Dunstable its First Loss

By Jason Siegel (@jasiegel1821)

GROTON, Mass. -  On Friday night at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, the Nashoba Chieftains showed that they learned something from their tough loss against Marlborough on Tuesday.

On Friday night in Groton, the Chieftains (8-1) handed the Groton-Dunstable Crusaders their first loss of the season, 55-46.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's Honors Bob Foley, Dispatches of Springfield Commerce

Led by 30 points from Alex Bradley, St. John's ran away from Springfield Commerce Friday night.

Photos by Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

SHREWSBURY, Mass. - St. John's (Shrewsbury) made short work of visiting Springfield Commerce Friday night, and honored legendary coach Bob Foley for recently becoming the winningest high school basketball coach in New England history.

Our Ryan Bowman captured some fantastic images from what was a festive, albeit less than dramatic night in Shrewsbury, as the Pioneers rolled 86-55. Continue below for those images, and click on each to enlarge.

Groton-Dunstable Holds Off Algonquin to Remain Unbeaten

Led by a strong group of seniors including Ethan Cook (40), Gavin Keough (34), Tyler LeClerc (3), and Logan Higgins (24), Groton-Dunstable held off the Algonquin Tomahawks, 57-51, to remain undefeated.

By Jason Siegel (@jasiegel)

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass.- The Groton-Dunstable Crusaders kept their undefeated season intact by taking down the Algonquin Tomahawks, 57-51, on Friday night at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough.

The Crusaders (7-0) came out firing, hitting shots on their first two possessions of the game. Senior guard Tyler LeClerc scored 8 of his game-high 18 points in the first period. LeClerc had as many first-quarter points as the Tomahawks (3-4), helping Groton-Dunstable grab a 20-8 lead after eight minutes of play.

“(LeClerc) is a playmaker for us,” Groton-Dunstable head coach Greg Gillette said about his starting guard. “He can beat people off the dribble, knock down shots… he’s a skilled player.”

The Tomahawks responded by finding their groove on the offensive end in the second quarter. Senior Dustin Branson, who finished with 10 points and 15 boards, scored 4 points in the first 49 seconds of the second period.

Bob Foley Earns New England Wins Record as St. John's Smothers St. Peter-Marian

Image courtesy of Saint John's High School

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

SHREWSBURY, Mass. - Behind a suffocating defense and some fantastic ball movement, St. John's (Shrewsbury) made short work of rival St. Peter-Marian, topping the Guardians 67-37, and earning coach Bob Foley his 879th career win, a New England high school basketball record.

Known for rarely talking about himself, Foley wasn't even aware of the record until the game ended, but felt obligated to discuss it. Well, sort of.

RADIO: The Local Sports Lunch Box

Photo by Ryan Bowman

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It was a hoops-tastic episode of "The Local Sports Lunch Box" on WPKZ, as I welcomed in Tom Flanagan of the Telegram & Gazette, and chatted with Marlboro basketball star Chris Doherty.

Flanagan broke down Inter-High for us, along with the best Catholic Schools in the area, and explained why Division 2 may be better than Division 1 for boys hoops this year in Central Mass. Doherty, meanwhile talked his team's chances of bringing home a state championship this year, and his many college suitors.

If you love local basketball, you don't want to miss this episode. Continue below for more from Flanagan and Doherty, plus our weekly awards.