Edwards School guard Alexis Jordan rises for a jump shot against the Curley School in the Boston Middle School Basketball championship game on Friday. The Edwards school won the championship by completing an undefeated season. (Billy Owens / For the Boston Globe)

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

The Edwards Middle School girls’ basketball team overcame a poor opening half Friday afternoon at the Shelburne Community Center to cap an undefeated season with a city championship.

“It feels good -- hard work pays off,” said seventh grade forward Asya Sullivan, who was named MVP after a 29-22 victory over the Curley School.

But after falling behind, 12-9, at the break, Edwards didn’t seem to be on the way to a 12-0 season.

Sullivan, who tied for a team-high 9 points (along with eighth grade guard Aneytra Williams), said the girls remained positive at halftime and had to “just play our defense how we play in practice.”

Much of that defense was provided by sixth-grade guard Dasiah Thorton (12 steals and 7 rebounds).

“We just played hard and played defense,” said Edwards coach Laurence Ollivierre. “That’s our theme: scholarship, teamwork, intensity, and confidence. That’s what we’re all about. We believe in working hard. ”

Curley (8-4) was led by eighth-grade guard Iriani Casimil, who scored most of her game-high 15 points on baseball passes heaved in transition despite injuring her groin in the semifinals Thursday.

“I knew eventually they would run out of gas, so I just wanted to keep playing our game,” Ollivierre said of Curley’s transition game. “I made a few adjustments [at halftime] and told them to stay with [Casimil].”

Curley coach Geju Brown said his team was hurt by foul trouble down the stretch. He also noted that after knocking off the No. 1 seed on his side of the bracket (the Edison School) in Thursday’s semifinals, beating another undefeated team was going to be a tall order.

“They came a long way,” he said. “You can’t run up against the No. 1 seed twice. We were hoping to get some luck and have someone else beat them on the other side of the bracket. I’m really proud of them. They played their hearts out.”

Justin A. Rice covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

The winners of the Boston city league All-star game were treated to a trip to Sunday night's Celtics game. Due to a miscommunication, however, they were not honored at half court during halftime like they were supposed to be. (Zolan Kanno-Youngs/For the Boston Globe)

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Globe Correspondent

All-stars of the Boston city league stood inside the TD Garden at the Celtics Wizards game ready to be honored at halftime for their efforts throughout the season.

Instead of an honor from a crowd of thousands, they got an apology from one Celtics community relations worker.

“This opportunity tonight represented more than just coming to see a Celtics game,” Brighton boys’ coach of the year Hugh Coleman said. “The students really had their hearts set on being on that floor and being honored in front of this crowd.”

Those students were the winners of the boys’ and girls’ city league all star game. After the win, the players were promised to be honored at halftime of the Celtics game in addition to their free tickets. BSA director Chris Rooks confirmed that this was the award for the winners.

However, as the clock trickled down in the second quarter, no one came to get the city league players. Instead they had to watch student-athletes from different schools around the state get the recognition that they were promised.

“Hugh bringing the [boys’ Division 2 state] championship home to the city, that would have brought a lot of acknowledgement that the city is doing something good and here are these young great all stars from the city and that wasn’t acknowledged today. A lot of suburbs were out there but Boston itself was not represented out there. It’s unfortunate, very unfortunate,” girls’ coach of the year Emily Coleman said.

While the Latin Academy coach said the group did appreciate the free trip to the Garden, it wasn’t the same as looking upon the crowd from on top of the Celtics logo.

“They left us out and we should have been honored as well as everyone else today. We put our hard work into it and we just got let down,” English senior Braxton Gulleymabry said.

After halftime, Celtics director of community relations Matt Meyersohn met with the players and coaches to express apologies from the Celtics. He later gave this statement on the mistake.

“There’s been a miscommunication with some staff turnover and we didn’t know what had been promised until it had been too late and we’re going to make it right for every one of the kids and give them the recognition they deserve as city all stars and bring them out and get them recognized and show how proud we are of them as student athletes,” Meyersohn said.

No date has been confirmed about when that game will be. There are only two more regular season Celtics home games before the NBA playoffs begin.

Rooks also confirmed that the BSA is currently working with the Celtics to get the all stars back to the Garden. He also continued to show the BSA’s support for the student’s effort on the court and in the classroom throughout the year.

“We’re very proud of the efforts of our all-stars to win an opportunity to go to the Celtics game,” Rooks said.

The all-stars were allowed to shoot around and take pictures on the Celtics court after the game but the general consensus among the group was that it didn’t make up for the lack of a halftime honor. Some players even passed on the opportunity.

“No one’s going to be here! It doesn’t matter,” Latin Academy senior guard Ayjah Willis said. “We put so much work in our season to make it as all-stars and then we played so hard in the all star-game for a treat like this, to be honored in front of all these people and then it’s just a letdown.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at kannoyoungs.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @KannoYoungs.

Brighton junior guard Malik James guards South Boston's Phil Lodge. James and the Red team won the Boston City League All-Star game on Saturday at Northeastern's Cabot Center. (Pavel Dzemianok / For the Boston Globe)

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Globe Correspondent

Among the city’s best players, the state champions still shined brightest in the Dr. Joseph Warren Boston City League All-Star game.

Brighton’s Malik James, Nate Simpson, Daivon Edwards and Prince Unaegbu combined for 41 points in the Red team’s 71-63 win over the Blue team.

“To be able to celebrate as the city and state champs and then come out here and say you know what? ‘We’re going to coach our guys for the last time in the All-Star game and to a win,” Red team coach Hugh Coleman said.

With just a 2-point lead at the end of the third quarter, the Red team needed a jumpstart to their offense in the closing minutes if they hoped to the get the prize of being recognized at halftime of the Celtics-Wizards game April 7.

“They add the Celtics tickets in there and just like the NBA All-Star game, fourth quarter, it’s time to win,” Coleman said.

After four minutes in the quarter had passed and Coleman found his team down 3, he went with the four players with the strongest chemistry on the squad.

The Red team’s last 13 points were scored by Bengals, earning the squad bragging rights for the coming months and a trip to the TD Garden.

“It feels good, to go back to the Garden especially. Last time we came out there victorious, now we’re going back,” Unaegbu said. “I was happy to be back on the floor with them, for the last time probably, because those are my brothers. I love them.”

The All-Star game capped off senior years for Edwards and Unaegbu. James also won’t be returning to Brighton, as he will be moving on to prep school.

It looked as if coach Jeremy Silva’s All-Star game would end up as a win after the first half. The Blue team led, 42-33, after the first half thanks to a big 7-point second quarter from Charlestown’s Taris Wilson.

“It was definitely fun. I still can’t beat Brighton, but it was fun,” Silva said.

Silva wouldn’t say that Brighton’s players having less rust as a result of the state tournament gave their team an advantage. However the South Boston coach did agree with Coleman in chemistry being a huge factor.

“All the kids know each other, but it helps when you play together a lot. I think they had that advantage there,” Silva said. “We just wanted to make sure we had as much playing time as possible for everybody, have as much fun as we could and I think we had as much fun as we could, so it’s a success in that respect.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at kannoyoungs.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @KannoYoungs.

Fenway freshman Takora McIntyre drives to the basket in the first quarter of the Boston City League All-Star game at Northeastern on Saturday afternoon. Filling in for senior Tajanay Veiga-Lee, McIntyre helped the Blue squad beat the Red squad 50-47 at the Cabot Center. (Pavel Dzemianok / For the Boston Globe)

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

Takora just might be the new Taj.

Without Fenway senior point guard Tajanay Veiga-Lee and South Boston point guard Elaina Wright-McCarthy in the lineup, the Blue squad managed to win the Dr. Joseph Warren Boston City League All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon with Fenway freshman Takora McIntyre playing point guard for much of the 50-47 victory.

Veiga-Lee couldn’t play in her fourth consecutive All-Star game at Northeastern’s Cabot Center because she was working out for the Providence College coaches and Wright-McCarthy was out of the lineup with an injury.

“It was a pleasure, I actually never met her before, I’ve never seen her play, I can’t recall seeing her play, but she was awesome,” Blue coach Emily Coleman said. “She came out of nowhere. She’s a pleasure ... She played with so much grace, like she’s been there before. She played with such leadership.

"She’s a very tough player, very tough player.”

The victory also means that the Blue team gets to attend the April 7 Celtics game against the Washington Wizards, during which they will be honored on the floor at halftime.

“It’s really exciting to have an opportunity to do this,” Coleman said. “This was really fun. The girls were great. Nobody had any issues about playing time, I tried to even it out, but they are excited that collectively we are going to experience something at the Garden.”

The Red team came close to returning to the Garden for a second straight year. But McIntyre, who tied for a team-high 10 points with Madison Park’s Amber Edwards, stole the ball in front of the Red team’s bench in the final seconds.

New Mission’s DeAndra Humphries (11 points) managed to get the ball back for the Red team but her last-ditch, half-court buzzer-beater clanked off the rim.

“I was just thinking ‘Don’t let her shoot it, don’t shoot it,’ and then I see the ball coming and I grabbed it,” McIntyre said of her final steal. “I was thinking the only way we’re going to beat this team is if we all worked hard on defense so I felt that we all put all our effort into defense and that’s how we won.”

McIntyre’s steal came after South Boston’s Daitannah Smith (6 points) split a pair of free throws to put Blue up 3 points with 9.5 seconds let.

“I thought I was going to miss it because I was struggling the whole game, but my team had confidence in me so I had to make that one,” Smith said.

O’Bryant junior Raven Kelsey (game-high 12 points) scored to put the Red team down 49-47 with 58 seconds left. She also scored 3 points in the Red team’s 8-2 run that cut Blue’s lead to 40-38 with 4:16 to play.

Kelsey said they were rushing their shots before they finally made a comeback.

“We had to move the ball around,” she said. “Once we moved the ball around we got open shots and open layups and we took our time.”

Blue took a 38-30 lead into the final quarter after McIntyre scored 4 points and added two assists in a 12-2 run to close out the third quarter.

“Her defense is incredible and she’s really small, so in every possession she’s there in every possession,” Kelsey said of McIntyre. “You have to protect the ball at all times.”

Even though Kelsey said she knew the game would be tough even without Veiga-Lee because McIntyre was a more than suitable sub, she hesitated to call McIntyre the new Veiga-Lee.

“Taj is definitely talented but I knew they had a whole bunch of other people like Takora so it would still be balanced out,” Kelsey said before adding, “I don’t think she would be happy if I told her [she’s the new Veiga-Lee] but they are definitely both talented.”

McIntyre, however, didn’t seem to mind the comparison and said she aims to make four straight All-Star games just like her mentor.

“I always look up to Taj,” McIntyre said. “Coming in as a freshman I’m looking to do the same as her.”

Justin A. Rice covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Globe Correspondent

Boston City TV wraps up live coverage of the 2013 high school basketball this season on Saturday, March 23 at 2 p.m., as the city’s best girls' and boys' basketball stars compete in the 2013 All-City Basketball Classic, presented by the Boston Scholar Athlete Foundation at Northeastern University’s Cabot Center.

The girls kick off their All-Star Showcase at 2 p.m., followed by the boys at 4 p.m. These games can be viewed live on Boston City TV (Comcast Ch. 24 & RCN Ch. 13) and online at: www.cityofboston.gov/cable/live.asp.

All of this season’s games featured on Mayor Menino’s Game of the Week can be found online at www.cityofboston.gov/gameoftheweek.

O'Bryant boys' basketball coach Drew Brock was awarded the second annual Alfreda Harris Coach of the Year Award before Saturday's Boston City League All-Star game. (Justin A. Rice / For the Boston Globe)

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Globe Correspondent

Coach Drew Brock has had a big year at O’Bryant.

He was offered a job by the school teaching physical education and health at the beginning of the year. He went on to coach O’Bryant's boys' basketball team to 12 wins -- compared to last season’s five -- and win the Alfreda Harris Coach of the Year Award.

Harris is known for founding multiple basketball groups, including the women’s Boston Neighborhood Basketball League and the Boston Shootout Basketball Tournament. She also coached at UMass-Boston, Roxbury Community College and Emerson College.

“The award for me as a coach means a lot because it recognizes a lot of the hard work I do off the court, in the classrooms,” Brock said. “Now that I’m teaching at O’Bryant I’m always harassing my kids to go to study hall and progress reports.”

While Brock said he is proud to accept the award, he gave all the credit to his student-athletes.

“It’s all about the kids. Without the kids and without them staying eligible and without them executing my plays, we wouldn’t of gotten the recognition that we did get,” Brock said. “I get the award but the award is shared with my family, my wife, my players, my coaching staff, and my administration.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at kannoyoungs.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @KannoYoungs.

The Blue squad looks to win back-to-back titles at in Saturday's Boston City League All-Star game. (Photo courtesy of Colin Campbell)

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Globe Correspondent

With 20 city teams making it to the state tournament this year, players from the city league have been used to playing competitive games under high amounts of pressure.

While the same level of pressure may not be there, the 2013 Dr. Joseph Warren Boston City League All-Star game should be just as competitive.

“You don’t make it to an all star game like this unless you’re competitive, unless you’re super competitive and that alone right there is motivation," said Blue team coach Jeremy Silva at the all-star pregame recognition dinner at Suffolk Construction's Roxbury headquarters Thursday night. "I’m not going to need to do anything but stay out of the kid’s way."

While it may be coach Silva’s first time around an all-star game, it is Brighton coach Hugh Coleman’s third straight appearance as the coach of the Red team. The coach, whose team is coming off their first state championship in school history, agreed that the game would be competitive.

“Last year, we fell short," Coleman said. "It was a Miami Heat vs. Celtics game so that actually burned us a little bit. In the back of our minds, we want to win, we’d like to get an award at the end of it all but I just want to make sure the young men have a good time.”

One of those young men will be Coleman’s star point guard, Malik James, who said the prize for winning the game -- getting recognized at the Celtics vs. Wizards game on Sunday April 7 -- will definitely add more intensity.

“The season was hard work so now you can just go out there and enjoy yourself and enjoy everybody playing against you and stuff like that, so it’s definitely going to be a fun game,” James said. “I’m still representing the school so I’m going to go out there and have fun but take it seriously at the same time.”

The boys' all-star game will be 4 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at Northeastern’s Cabot Center. The girls' all-star game will be at 2 p.m.

Many of the players selected as all stars are also seniors, and some said the game would be great preparation to playing in a college atmosphere.

“It’s an experience for me because I’m getting ready to play college ball after I do my postgraduate year so it’s new experience for me and I really appreciate the opportunity,” senior Gabriel Vieira said.

Every member of the All-Star team was treated to dinner as they were recognized for their great efforts, thanks to the BSA organizers behind it all.

BSA Athletic Director Chris Rooks congratulated the players during the dinner for being both good athletes and students.

“In takes equal dedication in both to be successful so we’re happy that each of you are here for this reason,” Rooks said. “We’re recognizing you all for your efforts, your teammates effort, your leadership, your effort on and off the court, your dedication to your game and your school and in the classroom.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at kannoyoungs.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @KannoYoungs.

Tajanay Veiga-Lee signs balls during a pregame dinner for Saturday's Boston City League All-Star game. The Fenway senior will be unable to play in the game because she is working out for the Providence College coaches. (Justin A. Rice / For the Boston Globe)

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

Fresh off her second consecutive Division 4 state championship, Tajanay Veiga-Lee was named to her fourth straight city league All-Star team.

But the Fenway point guard will be unable to play for the Blue squad in Saturday’s Dr. Joseph Warren Boston City League All-Star Game at 2 p.m. at Northeastern’s Cabot Center because she will be working out for the Providence College coaches.

“It feels pretty good, it’s like an honor [to make it] four years,” Veiga-Lee said during the All-Star pregame recognition dinner at Suffolk Construction’s Roxbury headquarters on Thursday night. “I’ve made it since my freshman year.

“I really wanted to play since that would be my last official high school game. But it is what it is.”

Veiga-Lee said she will most likely be working out with other prospects as well. She said she’s not nervous.

“I’m just going to show them my game and I’m just going to work hard and hopefully they’ll like me,” she said. “They just want to see me play so I’m just going to go out there.”

The Blue squad will have the services of Veiga-Lee’s Fenway teammate, Cadejia Matthews — whose 47-year-old stepfather, Robert Summers, died hours before Matthews hit a pair of crucial free throws in the Division 4 North sectional final to send the Panthers to the state championship at the TD Garden.

Matthews said Summers’ funeral was on Tuesday.

“It’s getting better, it’s just a little bit shaky but I’m hanging in there,” Matthews said.

The Blue team will be coached by Latin Academy’s Emily Coleman, who his coaching her first All-Star game.

“Oh my god it’s an honor, it’s an absolute honor to be voted amongst my peers as coach of the year,” she said. “It’s a recognition that I think any coach would like to have. I strive to try to run a program that my girls can be proud of being a part of and to be recognized behind the scenes for that … again, it’s an honor.”

Coleman’s husband, Hugh, who just won a Division 2 state championship with Brighton, will coach in the boys’ game for the third straight year.

“It is pretty cool, I’m like ‘Hey coach of the year’ and he’s like ‘Hey what’s up coach of the year?’” she said. “We joke around with it.”

The Red team is coached by Boston English’s Justine Grace for the second straight year. Grace said having a year under her belt will make it easier to strike the balance of being competitive and making sure all of her girls get enough playing time.

“The nerves will be out of the way after last year’s game,” said Grace, who coached against her former coach John Rice last year. “I’ll know what to expect this year so it’s about balancing the team and finding a good combination of kids that we can play and making sure everyone gets playing time. But in the end, we do want to win so when it comes down to crunch time if we have to make some adjustments with players or subs we will.”

For the second straight year the winning teams of the All-Star game will get tickets to a Celtics game. But while the teams sat in the mezzanine last year, this year they will sit in the lower bowl. The teams will also be recognized on the court during halftime of the Wizards game on April 7.

“It definitely makes me want to work harder knowing I can go to the Celtics game but I have season tickets to the Celtics so I go all the time,” said South Boston’s Elaina Wright-McCarthy, who will play for the Blue team. “But knowing I could go somewhere with [basketball] and this will take me different places and give me different opportunities is definitely something that means something to me, that there are people trying to help.”

Coleman, who had a baby earlier this season, joked about not being able to find a babysitter on April 7 if both her team and her husbands’ team win on Saturday.

“You know what, listen, baby is just going to have to come along or something,” she said. “I’m trying to win.”

And even though she won’t do any of the heavy lifting in the All-Star game, Veiga-Lee hopes she’ll get to go along to the Celtics game if the Blue team wins.

“I hope so,” she said. “I’m still on the team.”

Justin A. Rice covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

Brighton head basketball coach Hugh Coleman talks to his team during a timeout during the Div. 2 Boy's State Basketball Finals against South Hadley at the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday. (Robert E. Klein for the Boston Globe)

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

After becoming the first Boston public schools basketball team to win both the city and state championship in the same season since Charlestown in 2003, Brighton boys’ basketball coach Hugh Coleman dedicated Saturday afternoon’s victory against South Hadley to his former coach at Charlestown, Jack O’Brien.

“I feel honored that the last time it was done was with Jack O’Brien and Charlestown and I was a part of their coaching staff [that year] and my brother was on their team, so it is a special thing and I definitely want to dedicate this to Jack O’Brien,” the fourth-year Brighton coach said after the 59-41 victory at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Coleman played on O’Brien’s first Charlestown team in 1993 and helped the Townies make it to the state quarterfinals in 1996 and 1997. Coleman was an assistant under O'Brien at Charlestown from 2002 to 2008.

“We spoke afterwards, obviously I didn’t know he said anything like that of course,” O’Brien said when reached Saturday night. “It’s always an honor coming from him. I just think he has such deep feelings and deep roots for the program he was in and has done the same thing for the program in Brighton.”

O’Brien won a total of six state championships, including four straight at Charlestown from 1999 to 2003 and a fifth in 2005 before resigning from the Lynn English job in 2006. He hasn’t returned to the sideline since.

“He should be coaching and I have no idea why he’s not coaching in the state of Massachusetts,” Coleman said. “In my opinion he is the best coach in the state of Massachusetts. He is. Not just because he won games. He changed the lives of so many of us young men at Charlestown during that period. We went on to go to college, we went on to be great men, fathers, husbands, and you know what, it’s because of what he helped us do from the inside out.

“I’ll be honest with you, I coach, and I took the coaching job because he’s not coaching … and when they said he couldn’t coach, or they wouldn’t allow him to coach for whatever reason I said ‘I gotta keep the legacy going.’ He’s healthy. He’s a 10 times better man, he learned whatever lesson I guess he was supposed to learn and it’s an absolute shame that the man is not coaching because he is all that and then some. He is a great person so I just really want to dedicate this state championship to him and all of my CTB brothers because I remember the days of us putting in a lot of work before they started winning a lot of state championships and we never got one.”

O’Brien’s name has been mentioned for several jobs over the years but he said he's waiting for the right circumstances.

“We’ll see what opens up,” he said. “I’m just going to see what opens up. Obviously in the right position and the right situation I definitely want to get back.”

O’Brien said he was glad to see Coleman and Lavelle Larkins, who played with Coleman at Charlestown and is his assistant at Brighton, finally get a state championship.

“It’s funny, we talk about that quite a bit,” O’Brien said. “When he first came to high school that was my first year coaching. They kind of laid the foundation with all their hard work and dedication.”

Justin A. Rice covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

Brighton's Malik James goes in for the easy layup during the Div. 2 Boy's State Basketball Finals against South Hadley at the DCU Center in Worcester. (Robert E. Klein for the Boston Globe)

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Globe Correspondent

Coach Hugh Coleman believes that his Bengals didn’t deserve to win the state title last year.

With the way his players have grown on and off the court, that’s not even up for debate for this year's Bengals, the new Division 2 state champions after a win against South Hadley, 59-41, at the DCU Center in Worcester.

“We didn’t deserve it last year, I really feel that spiritually. We drove that to make changes,” Coleman said. “We told guy’s there’s going to be no tolerance with how you act.”

Brighton had overcome adversity in all forms, including academic ineligibility. Multiple players on Brighton's 2011-12 team failed off of the squad including senior Nate Hogan.

“I failed off the team so I wasn’t able to be on the bench with them,” said Hogan (8 points, 2 steals) when asked about last year’s state tournament. “This year I made sure I kept my grades, stayed on the team and now I played in the state game and we won.”

If there were anyone that topped Hogan in terms of academic improvement, it would have to be Nick Simpson. In fact, Coleman said the forward is the most improved person on the team.

“Nick Simpson flunked off the team last year. He had the best grades both quarters of everyone on the team [this year],” Coleman said. “That is a testament to his character.”

The extra work in the classroom has paid off for Simpson as the junior made big play after big play for the Bengals, whether it was his first game in the Garden or knocking down free throw after free throw in the DCU Center.

Oh, and then there’s Malik James.

“For a long time, he didn’t want the pressure,” Coleman said. “You’re one of the best players if not the best player that we have, guys follow that, guys believe in that.”

While Coleman still believes the junior has room to grow off the court, James’ leadership on the court has been impressive.

“A lot of the times, I’ve been wondering how much he’s listened to me and how much he’s grown off the court but what I’ve realized is he takes it in but it shows a lot more on the courts so that’s meant everything for us,” Coleman said.

James led Brighton with 16 points and 4 steals in the state title game. For the point guard, the game was all about leaving Brighton with a their first state championship trophy before he moves on to prep school.

“I don’t have to leave on a bad note and just say that I did everything I could. I did do everything I could but it was on a good note this time,” James said.

If James and the rest of the Bengals hadn’t matured off the court, it’s a wonder if they would’ve made it to Worcester.Coleman mentioned before the season that getting to the state championship last season could hurt his squad because they could assume that the road would be easier.

However, it turned out losing in the state title game last season couldn’t have been better for the growth of his players.

“It was invaluable last year because it taught us we’re capable of it but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win it. So every game, every practice we said we’re capable of doing it but you’ve got to do the right things on and off the court,” Coleman said.

With their state championship medals as evidence, it's clear the Brighton boys' basketball team learned their lesson.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at kannoyoungs.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @KannoYoungs.