NEWTON – Defense has been the Newton North boys basketball team’s calling card all year in an unbeaten season against MIAA competition.
That, and timely Teagan Swint takeovers.
Why would anything else in front of a packed house propel them to a third Final Four appearance in four years?
Swint scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and the third-seeded Tigers (23-1) forced a nearly four-minute scoring drought in crunch time, leading a 48-40 win over No. 11 Braintree in a rock-fight of a Div. 1 state quarterfinal Friday night.
Swint was a freshman call-up on the bench in 2022 when Newton North made a run to the state final, and a sophomore when the Tigers made the Final Four again in 2023.
“This year, now I’m a senior and one of the captains of the team,” Swint said. “A lot of the responsibility kind of comes with me in the crunch moments. It means a lot to be able to help lead my team. … All of our (five) seniors, they’re all leading.”
“I’m just so proud of my guys,” added head coach Paul Connolly. “These kids deserve this. This is the last game in the (home) gym. … It’s awesome, it’s a great feeling.”
Smothering defense and missed jumpers challenged both groups, and the Wamps (19-4) used a few steals to hang tight before grabbing its first lead with 6:38 to play (32-30). Owen Kelly’s shooting (16 points) complemented physical, stout defense from Jared Coughlin (nine points, seven rebounds, two steals) and Calum McClorey (three steals), and five big points off the bench from Marcelo Barros helped put Braintree ahead.
But Swint dashed to the cup for a layup before Mathaios Stamm (eight points, 10 rebounds, two steals) posted four straight points for a 36-33 advantage, and Braintree wouldn’t score after Coughlin’s layup with 4:41 left for the next 3:32 of play.
Nicky Spinelli (nine points) locked up Kelly in an all-around stellar performance, Swint (five blocks, eight rebounds) anchored the inside, rebounding was tremendous and Newton North finished the game on a 12-5 run.
“Defense is what our team is,” Swint said. “We’re a defensive-minded team, it’s what wins us games. We’re in every game because of our defense, even tonight, when our offense wasn’t going.”
Ten of those 12 points the rest of the way came from Swint, who went away from the team’s woeful night shooting from deep (3-for-14) with strong takes to the basket and free throw success.
“That’s what he does,” Connolly said. “That’s why he’s a dude, and he’s one of the top four, five players in the MIAA this year. He’s terrific.”
Connolly spent the first two minutes of his postgame interview praising Braintree, admiring the Wamps as a worthy opponent that nearly took his Tigers to the brink.
“First of all, hats off to (head coach) Bob Crook and Braintree,” he said. “He’s a class act. He’s the dean of the Bay State Conference, the most tenured coach in our league. I just have great respect for him as a person and his program. … I just think the world of him. If we lost tonight, it would stink. We wouldn’t be able to have this celebration, they’d be celebrating in our gym. It wouldn’t sting as much to me knowing it’s him on the other side.”
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