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New Mission throttles Northbridge for D-2 title

Print | Comments () Posted by Staff March 19, 2011 06:48 PM

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By Anthony Gulizia, Globe correspondent

WORCESTER – Before Northbridge could even get a look at the basket, they were faced with the task of getting past New Mission’s furious full-court press.

But the Titans cranked up the heat on defense and disrupted Northbridge’s tempo, cruising to a 67-57 win in the Division 2 state championship at the DCU Center Saturday.

“We knew we could use our length on this court,” New Mission coach Cory McCarthy said. “I felt like if we came out in [a press] we’d end up in a good situation in terms of getting steals, putbacks – the whole nine.”

Throughout the second half, New Mission’s lead never slipped below 17 points until the two minute mark in the fourth quarter when the Titans were leading 65-49.

“[The lead] gave us a lot of momentum,” said senior Darius Davis, who led New Mission with 17 points. “Being in the press really fired me up and we used our intensity to force a lot of turnovers.”

Photos: MIAA state basketball finals

Senior Samir McDaniels and junior Kachi Nzerem joined Davis in double-digit scoring, adding 16 and 15 points, respectively, and senior Charles Gunter chipped in eight.

“Those guys are the best guys I ever coached,” McCarthy said. “They’ve stuck together and they’re four different personalities, and usually in those situations that’s tough to manage. But they’re able to stick together cause they’re high character guys.”

McCarthy said that the team was a little shaky on offense, but that was because the team focused on getting the ball inside, especially Nzerem.

“It’s not always about me,” Nzerem said. “My coach always wants me to shoot and my shooting’s an ability I have, but I always like to feed my teammates.”

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