MALDEN — Good teams find a way to win — and that’s exactly what the Beverly boys basketball squad did in Tuesday evening’s Division 1 Sweet 16 clash at Malden Catholic.
Uncharacteristically struggling from 3-point land from the jump, the Panthers put it upon themselves to attack the basket with force and get to the charity stripe. They also crashed the glass with a purpose, rotated extremely well defensively, and withstood a number of Lancer runs to ultimately hold on down the stretch for a marquee 68-64 win.
With the victory, Beverly (now 19-4) advances to the state quarterfinals to face the winner of Wednesday’s game between top-seeded Central Catholic and No. 17 Saint John’s Shrewsbury.
“We know the Division 1 field is an absolute gauntlet and that was two teams in the Sweet 16 that could win the whole thing,” said Panthers’ head coach Matt Karakoudas. “The two biggest things for us coming into the game were that we couldn’t live on the perimeter and we needed to rebound the basketball. We did an amazing job rebounding against a much bigger team, and showed poise, toughness and confidence to play with each other.”
Clinging to a 43-42 lead after three quarters, Beverly would cough up their advantage numerous times in the fourth but never by more than a single possession.
After a dunk from MC’s Cole Tucker, Beverly trailed 54-53 with under three minutes to play. And then, Eli Landman went to work.
The junior standout had some huge buckets (and made free throws) in crunch time, including a transition and-1 to jolt his team back in front. MC was whistled for a tech on the play, and although Jacob Klass missed both freebies, Andrew Braganca (10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) came through with a driving layup on the ensuing possession for a five-point Beverly edge.
Klass would wind up missing four straight free throws to leave the door open for MC, but he rebounded with four in a row in the final minutes to help seal the deal. Two of those decisive freebies came after MC had sliced the deficit to just two with four seconds remaining on a Treshaun Adams jumper, but were whistled for another technical foul for calling a timeout they didn’t have.
Klass — the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer — was face-guarded all night and held to just 14 points, but he came up clutch when it mattered most. Coach Karakoudas actually pulled him aside after the first four misses and he swiftly swished the next four.
“It was very simple: I told him ‘I would put you in there time and time again, I would choose no one else and I would put my life on the line that he would make the next free throws’,” Karakoudas said of the brief conversation. “I could not have felt more comfortable. There was a better chance of hitting the lottery than him missing four again.”
Trailing by as many as a dozen early, Malden Catholic would climb back into the contest behind some stellar play from starting guard Duke Chery. The senior scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the opening half by slicing his way into the lane with regularity.
Aboubakar Nimaka was also huge, matching his teammate’s production with 17 points of his own while taking on lead defensive duties on Klass.
Still, Beverly held a six point advantage (34-28) at the break. That was thanks in large part to the work of senior captain Danny Pierce (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists).
With Klass being held in check, Pierce stepped up with some massive plays to keep his team in front.
“He’s a senior; he does not want his season to end and he’s a captain and he played like it tonight,” Karakoudas said of Pierce.
Dom Torres (10 points, 4 rebounds) also came up with some big plays for Beverly in the win.
The Panthers wound up shooting just 3-for-14 from beyond the arc, but made up for it by knocking down 22 of their 32 free throws. In comparison, MC hit 3-for-16 from deep and got just 12 attempts at the line, making nine.
Now it’s on to the Elite Eight — and let’s just say coach Karakoudas and his group are hoping for another crack at the state’s top team in Central.
“We already talked about it; we want Central Catholic,” said Karakoudas. “If we’re gonna go all the way we want to beat the best teams in the state. Central is an incredible opponent, the best team all year, most consistent and they’re a really tough team to play on the road. But so is MC, so I know we can get it done.”
Beverly 68, Malden Catholic 64
MIAA Division 1 state tournament, Round of 16
at Malden Catholic Gymnasium
Beverly;16;18;9;25;68
Malden Catholic;22;64
Individual scoring
Beverly — Eli Landman 4-8-17, Danny Pierce 7-1-15, Jacob Klass 4-4-14, Dom Torres 3-3-10, Andrew Braganca 2-6-10, Connie Panda 1-0-2. Totals: 21-22-68.
Malden Catholic — Duke Chery 6-5-17, Aboubakar Nimaka 8-1-17, Cole Tucker 6-0-14, Treshaun Adams 4-1-10, Rayan Taku 2-2-6, Nick Irvine 0-0-0, Julian Rodriguez 0-0-0. Totals: 26-9-64.
Halftime: 34-28, Beverly
Three-pointers: B, Klass 2, Torres; MC, Tucker 2, Adams.
Records: B, 19-4; MC, 15-7.