WHITMAN – Jah Estrela had 24 points while Dylan Perrault added 17 as Whitman-Hanson captured the Patriot League Keenan boys basketball crown with a 71-56 win over Marshfield on Thursday night.

The league championship is the third consecutive for the Panthers and eighth in the last 10 years.

“We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of league titles and each one is special in its own way but this one does standout because of the road we had to travel as a team,” Whitman-Hanson coach Bob Rodgers said. “They are a close knit group of kids who play unselfish and had an unwavering belief in who we were as a team from the very first day of practice.”

“A lot of people may be surprised we are here,” Rodgers said. “Our kids though expected to be here.”

Marshfield (15-3) was limited offensively for much of the night. Down a pair of starters in Jake Brilliant and Noah Feldman, the Rams struggled to gain offensive fluidity. They trailed by double figures at half and 45-31 after three.

Estrela began the night with six of his points in the first quarter while Josh Manchester knocked down a pair of triples to give the Panthers an early edge. In the second, Perrault got in on the act. The senior Panthers forward scored eight of his points, two off dump downs from Estrella, to help Whitman-Hanson get out 36-26 at the half.

The hosts salted the game away in the third. JP Patrechan hit a triple, Perrault finished at the rim, and Estrela had two transition baskets to stretch the lead to 21. Marshfield tried to hang around on the heels of Dylan Padden who canned a three pointer.

Estrela, however, hit a three of his own to start the fourth to push the Panthers lead back to 17 and seal the win.

Whitman-Hanson finishes the regular season next week by hosting Arlington, Pembroke and Brockton in the Panther Classic. The Rams, meanwhile, will participate in the Weymouth Family Tournament with the Wildcats, Duxbury and Newton South.