WORCESTER — It may not always be pretty, but Newton North refuses to lose.

Senior Teagan Swint scored 22 points while Newton North proved to be clutch defensively down the stretch as the No. 3 Tigers held off a late Springfield Central flurry to get past the No. 7 Golden Eagles, 53-49, in the Division 1 state semifinals on Tuesday night at Worcester State.

Newton North will play No. 1 Franklin for the Division title at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, the date and time to be determined. Newton North last appeared in a state final in 2022.

“This is terrific for these kids,” Newton North coach Paul Connolly said. “For a kid like Teagan Swint – that was our 80th win in four years. These guys have been unbelievable since their freshman year. They all bought in. We are not the prettiest team sometimes but the bonds these kids have together and selflessness – it’s a great blend.”

Newton North (24-1) led 23-18 at the half and gained separation when Swint buried a triple to push the lead up to eight, 32-24. Springfield Central trimmed the deficit to just two points, but as the third quarter wound down Julian Zakak drilled a three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer and Jacob Lyons finished in traffic to up the Tigers’ lead to seven entering the fourth quarter.

The Tigers’ largest lead of the game came early in the fourth quarter when Swint connected on long range to make the score 45-32, but the Golden Eagles came storming back. Using its full court pressure, Central sped up the game, leading the Tigers into a trio of turnovers and rushed shots.

At the other end, JP Martinez hit a three-pointer, while Jabari Sifrin laid in a pair of offensive putbacks to cut the Tigers’ lead to 47-44. Swint, however, answered by hitting a three-pointer from in front of the Tigers bench to put the Tigers on top by six with 2:15 remaining.

Springfield Central tried to stay on the Tigers’ heels but came up with a pair of empty possessions, while the Tigers hit three free throws in the games waning moments to emerge victorious.

“We got a little tentative against their full court pressure but we were able to get a little bit of separation,” Connolly said. “It turned into a double digit game but then we didn’t make some plays. Thankfully our guys when they needed to stepped up at the defensive end.”