LOWELL—For the second consecutive season, the compass points north in Massachusetts Division I boys high school basketball.
That’s north as in the North High School Polar Bears, who captured their second consecutive state championship with a come-from-behind 59-53 victory over Franklin before a raucous crowd at the Tsongas Center on Sunday, March 17.
North finished the season a perfect 24-0 and extended its two-year winning streak to 45 games. The last time the Polar Bears lost to a team from the Commonwealth was more than two years ago.
Facing a 12-point deficit with just over six minutes left in the third quarter, North head coach Al Pettway went to his bread and butter, the full-court press defense, which has worn out most of the Polar Bears’ opponents for two seasons.
“I think putting our press defense in, second half, was the difference in the game,” said Pettway, who sported one of his trademark orange suits to patrol the sidelines. “We speed you up and then we get layups.”
But it was also junior Khari Bryan who got the Polar Bears to refocus and stay in a positive mindset during the closing minutes of the third quarter with his vocal leadership.
“Khari, he’s like a leader for us,” said junior Amir Jenkins who scored a team-high 19 points, 12 of which came in the second half. “He got us energized. He got us on defense.”
Top-seed North closed the third on a 14-5 run to pull within three of third-seed Franklin (25-2) at 44-41.
With the game tied at 45 with just over six minutes to go, senior Joe Okla (14 points, 14 rebounds) missed two key free throws but quickly responded with a steal on the ensuing Franklin possession. He fed a streaking Jenkins for a layup to put the Polar Bears on top for the first time since early in the second quarter.
“We had no doubt in our minds,” said Okla. “We’ve been here before so we couldn’t panic.”
Okla and fellow senior Teshaun Steele (17 points, 6 rebounds) were once again a dominant post presence for North as they have been all season. It was Steele’s two season-saving free throws at the end of regulation that forced overtime in the Polar Bears’ win over Xaverian Brothers in the state semifinals on March 13.
“We were just giving each other motivation,” said Steele. “We told each other ‘keep your head up,’ the game’s not over, there’s still a lot of time left. We can do this.”
Franklin closed the gap to two with four and a half minutes remaining but North answered with six straight points on a layup by Steele and four consecutive free throws from Jenkins, who finished the game a perfect six-for-six from the foul line, netting four in the fourth quarter.
North enjoyed an eight-point advantage, its largest of the game, with three minutes remaining. Franklin made one final run and pulled to within three points at 54-51 with a minute and a half to play. But a costly violation on a free throw prevented the Panthers from getting any closer.
“One thing about this group, they didn’t give up. They just kept fighting,” added Pettway after the win. “It’s hard to beat the heart of a champion.”
“Winning 45 straight games, tell me who’s done that in the state, private or public? That’s some Tom Brady stuff,” joked Pettway.
Durfee High School of Fall River won 56 consecutive games from 1988 to 1991 with the help of legendary guard Chris Herren, who went on to play in the NBA, including a stint with the Boston Celtics.
With eight players on the North roster expected to return next season, a run at 56 straight victories is not out of the question.
“It’s kinda legendary, to make history not once, but twice,” said Jenkins reflecting on the past two years.
Perhaps no one is more confident of a continued winning streak than the throngs of boisterous North High fans who traveled from Worcester to Lowell to watch the Polar Bears repeat as champions.
One of the loudest moments came when Steele brought the black and orange clad faithful to a frenzy with a breakaway dunk late in the third quarter.
“It’s an amazing feeling to see how everybody in the city of Worcester came out to support us and show love to us. It means a lot to our city,” said Steele.
“We’re thankful that our community was behind us from Worcester Public Schools to people that work at barbershops,” added Jenkins.
North faced a major obstacle long before their final two games. Before the season began, the Polar Bears tragically lost former teammate Carl-Hens Beliard to gun violence, who was killed in Salem in early November. Beliard was a member of the Polar Bears championship squad in 2023.
The team dedicated their season to Beliard and wore white warmup shirts with his image on the front and his number 20 on the back along with the word “brotherhood” in orange lettering. Winning games and repeating as state champions took on a new meaning for the team after suffering such a shocking loss to their basketball family.
Down 12 points in the third quarter and facing a daunting challenge, the Polar Bears went to the source of their inspiration all season, their memories of Beliard. Returning the favor, Beliard likely responded with a little Saint Patrick’s Day luck that helped turn the game around.
“Every day, every practice we end by saying his name so it was very inspirational for us that we could win for our brother,” said Jenkins.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication.He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
