On what was mostly a sleepy night in high school sports, Archbishop Williams and Cathedral went into overtime in a thrilling boys’ basketball game. One of our newest correspondents, Cameron Pellegrino, was there to relay all the theatrics, including a tying 3-pointer from Luke Deftos in the final seconds of regulation.
But even a quiet night had its milestones, with a 400th coaching win, multiple OT finishes, some impressive individual stats, and the news on two football coaching openings.
Before we dive into the highlights, find our complete scoreboard here, and sign up for the weekly Varsity News newsletter.
Roundups: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey
Top 20 rankings: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey
League standings: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey
1. Milestones
· With a 51-37 victory over Lynnfield, Pentucket girls’ basketball coach John McNamara secured his 400th career win. Over 20 seasons, McNamara has led the Panthers to a pair of state championships and numerous Cape Ann League titles.
Girls Basketball Final
— Pentucket Athletics (@PRSD_Athletics) January 16, 2026
Pentucket 51@Lynnfield_AD 37
Congrats to Coach John McNamara on his 400th career win. In just his 20th season, a truly incredible feat to go along with 2 state championships and many CAL championships@KGaud123 @BostonHeraldHS @GlobeSchools pic.twitter.com/TbOImlZvGl
· On Wednesday, in a 60-15 dual-meet win over Brockton that clinched the Big Three title, New Bedford senior Josiah Martins Semedo recorded his 100th career victory. Competing at 120, 126, and 132 pounds, he is 27-4 this season.
· In a 36-33 loss to West Bridgewater on Wednesday, Holbrook senior Ashya Dingle reached 1,000 career points. Entering the game with 990, Dingle reached the mark on a 3-pointer from the right corner with 15 seconds left in the third quarter. She finished with 10 points.
· Sandwich senior captain Ronan Mullin broke the school record in the 500-yard freestyle Wednesday, racing to a time of 5 minutes, 17.4 seconds during a 100-62 win over Martha’s Vineyard. He broke the 5:34.73 mark set by Patrick Best in 2014.
· Also Wednesday, Holbrook senior Allen Brown Jr. hit 21 free throws to finish with 45 points in an 88-77 loss to West Bridgewater.
· Last week, Charlestown senior Quincy Dorcy broke the school record in the 600 meters, finishing in 1 minute, 28.83 seconds at the MSTCA Northeast Invitational.
2. Best finishes
· Sophomore Liam Foti netted the overtime winner as the Hawks (8-2-1) secured a 2-1 nonleague win over Shawsheen at Hallenborg Pavilion.
· Freshman Maddie Pinto came up clutch for Tri-County, drilling the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to stun Diman, 42-40, in a Mayflower girls’ basketball showdown. .
3. Six stars
Parker DeLong, Amesbury — The senior dropped 33 points, albeit in a 72-61 loss to Ipswich.
Ben Estelien, Pioneer Charter I — The senior delivered a double-double in a 54-38 win over Collegiate Charter, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Giovanni Jean, Lynn Tech — With 29 points and seven rebounds, the senior led Lynn Tech past Greater Lawrence, 60-50.
Thomas Quinn, Franklin — The senior posted a hat trick to propel the Panthers past Oliver Ames, 6-2.
Keyona Raines, Cathedral — The senior did it all for the No. 19 Panthers in a 62-47 upset of No. 13 Archbishop Williams, pouring in 35 points with nine rebounds and six steals.
D’Anthony Reyes, Notre Dame Cristo Rey — The senior captain went for 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 58-42 triumph over Pioneer Charter II.
4. Coaching carousel
· Central Catholic is looking for new football and baseball coaches after John Sexton stepped down from both positions to spend more time with family.
Sexton, a 1997 alum, spent 22 years as an assistant football coach with the Raiders before being promoted to head coach in 2023 to replace Hall of Famer Chuck Adamopoulos. Sexton went 19-14 in three seasons, reaching the Division 1 semifinals this past fall.
Sexton took over the baseball program in 2019 after 16 years as an assistant, replacing another Hall of Famer in Marc Pelletier. Sexton went 79-57 in six seasons, reaching the Division 1 quarterfinals and finishing 21-4 in 2023.
· Wakefield is also looking for a new football coach after John Rafferty retired after posting a 48-36 record over eight seasons and a capturing the 2022 Division 3 Super Bowl title over Milton.
Rafferty, a standout running back and linebacker at Wakefield (’71) who went on to play at Syracuse, also served as head coach at North Andover from 2001-14, and spent 32 years as an assistant with various stops in the Middlesex League.
5. Number retirement
On Tuesday, North Attleborough will honor one of its greats by retiring Mike Babul’s No. 43 jersey during a ceremony following a 5:30 p.m. girls’ basketball game vs. rival Attleboro.
Babul was a 1996 graduate of North Attleborough who was named Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year and earned national All-American honors from Parade and McDonald’s after scoring 1,423 points in his high school career.
He went on to play at UMass and went into coaching, as well as fouding the Babul Brothers Hoop Work brand. He was the head coach at Thayer when he passed unexpectedly on Dec. 30, 2024, at age 47.
6. Basketball leaderboard
Points
Keyona Raines, Cathedral, 35
Parker DeLong, Amesbury, 33
Giovanni Jean, Lynn Tech, 29
Grant Neal, Lynnfield, 25
John Chareas, St. Mary’s, 24
Zayd Leanna, Newburyport, 22
Logan Perrault, South Shore Voc-Tech, 22
Roman Rosario, Southeastern, 22
Cal Atherton, Newburyport, 21
Rowan Merryman, St. Mary’s, 20
Deshawn Rucker, Lynn Classical, 20
Yeuri Figuereo, Lynn English, 19
RJ Jimenez, Latin Academy, 19
Margot Bryce, Hamilton-Wenham, 18
Ariana Demetri, North Reading, 18
Jake Fortier, St. Mary’s, 18
Ysael Garcia, Notre Dame Cristo Rey, 18
Grace Logan, Notre Dame (Tyngsboro), 18
Will Olinto, Latin Academy, 18
D’Anthony Reyes, Notre Dame Cristo Rey, 18
Rex Satter, Ipswich, 18
Rebounds
Krem Amparo, Latin Academy, 16
Ysael Garcia, Notre Dame Cristo Rey, 12
Ben Estelien, Pioneer Charter I, 11
Anderson Pillis, Ipswich, 11
Lia Hull, Tri-County, 10
Keyona Raines, Cathedral, 9
Tamia Darling, Cathedral, 9
DJ Reynolds, Lynn Classical, 8
Angela Tshowa, Cathedral 7
Jayden Alsaindor, Everett, 7
Giovanni Jean, Lynn Tech, 7
Assists
Adam Aitmessaoud, Everett, 6
Rex Satter, Ipswich, 4
Steals
Keyona Raines, Cathedral, 6
Lia Hull, Tri-County, 5
Will Olinto, Latin Academy, 5
Blocks
Addie Monahan, Hanover, 6
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