ESPN

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Brighton coach Hugh Coleman may have never heard of Mahar Regional before today, but it did not take long to learn the Senators' name on Saturday.

After rolling out to an early fifteen point lead, Mahar weathered a wave of Bengals comeback attempts on way to a 45-41 win the MIAA Division 2 state championship, in its first-ever state final appearance, at the DCU Center.

“We have not played a team as skilled or athletic as Brighton,” said Mahar coach Chad Softic. “We were not going to go beyond the three-point line (defensively). We came out sharp, and that allowed us later in the game to withstand a couple runs from them.”

Only trailing twice in the game, the Senators (22-3) pulled ahead for good in the third off a pair of sidelines treys by seniors Phil DiPhillipo and Darwin Duncan to go up 33-30 with 1:53 left.

The Bengals (21-4) had six opportunities to tie the game in the final 40 seconds, but were unable to hit the equalizer. Sandwiched by a pair of missed 3-pointers, junior Prince Unaegbu threw up the Bengals' closest effort down 43-40 with a falling back lob that rolled in-and-out in at 20 seconds.

After trading a point off free-throws, junior Theo Oribhabor (12 points) set up a final fade-away behind the arc, but the leading Bengals' scorer was blocked by senior Phil DiPhillipo.

“We were going to make (Malik) James show us he could shoot,” said Softic. “If they were going to beat us they were going to have to knock down some shots to beat us.”

Mahar was lead with strong guard play from its senior, including 16 points from leading scorer Jesse LaCroix and 12 from DiPhillipo. The senior guards helped the Senators open strong with runs of eight and nine, respectively, during the first quarter.

DiPhillipo stole the rock in the lane and rushed it to the opposite boards to open the scoring for the Western Mass champs. A few minutes later LaCroix stepped around a screen for an open jumper and a 8-2 lead at 2:30 in the first.

Straddling the initial break with a nine point streak, LaCroix lobbed a rebound across the court for two then forced a three-point play under the basket for a 17-3 spread at 6:50.

“They were quick so they had quick hands and feet,” said LaCroix. “It was definitely different going in, but I just tried to use the same moves and check the ball better.”

After tallying five straight from freshman Keyon Jones to end the half, Brighton outscored Mahar 15 to 4 to open the third. Speeding up the tempo entering the half, teammates junior Daivon Edwards and Oribhabor hit a pair of fade-aways for three at 5:30.

The Bengals grabbed their first lead in twenty minutes with a 29-27 spin around ace from junior Dwayne Harper at 3:40 in the third.

“We were talking about dropping so we would not just give up layups,” said Coleman. “(We needed) more ball pressure to create turnovers. We got rolling, but they made some big shots.”

Softic, who is in his fifth year at the helm of Mahar, is the first coach to drive the Senators past the regional semifinals in school history.

The MIAA will crown six state champions in boys and girls basketball on Saturday at Worcester's DCU Center. Here are my thoughts on how those six games will play out:

DIVISION 3 GIRLS: PENTUCKET (22-4) VS. SABIS (21-5)
Pentucket Players to Watch: Tess Nogueira, Jr. C; Leigh McNamara, Sr. F; Sarah Higgins, Sr. F; Nicole Viselli, Jr. G; Alex Moore, Jr. G; Kelsie McNamara, Fr. G
Sabis Players to Watch: Jazmine Collins, Jr. G; Janaiya Sanchez, Fr. G; Shyanne Washington, Jr. F; Madison Sinkfield, Fr. F; Casie Thurber, Soph. C.
Analysis: After coming close the last couple of years, Sabis finally got over the hump in their competitive Western Mass. bracket, to land here at the DCU Center. Plain and simple, these Lady Bulldogs are on a mission; and led by a core that includes the dynamic Collins, this is a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately (and this will be the operative word for many of my picks), they run into a Pentucket team that is quite simply swarming on defense. The Sachems' lineup =is among the best in Division 3, and they're on a roll. Pentucket is also motivated -- the last time they were here, in 2010, the Sachems were penned as a favorite, only to run into a gritty Lee team that, quite frankly, pressed like kamikazes. Hall's Pick: Pentucket over Sabis

DIVISION 3 BOYS: DANVERS (20-4) VS. ST. JOSEPH CENTRAL (20-5)
Danvers Players to Watch: George Merry, Sr. C; Nick McKenna, Jr. G; Nick Bates, Jr. G; Eric Martin, Jr. G; Jon Amico, Sr. G.
St. Joe's Players to Watch: Taverick "Tank" Roberson, Jr. G; Mike McMahon, Sr. F; Joe Wiggins, Sr. F; Lavante Wiggins, Jr. G; Jon Bianchi, Jr. G
Analysis: Credit to St. Joe's for playing an ambitious non-league schedule, which included a rockfight of a bout with Holy Name back in December, and get ready to be introduced to the spunky power that is Roberson -- in my opinion, he's every bit of a tank as his nickname suggests. But after putting in arguably its best performance of the year Monday night in the Eastern Mass. Finals against Wareham, I'm convinced Danvers will come out on top in this one. the 6-foot-7 Merry can step out on the perimeter and facilitate offense for shooters like McKenna and Bates, as much as he can take it inside. Danvers coach John Walsh goes with some of the same offensive principles as his cousin Watertown head coach and two-time D3 state champ Steve Harrington. And if you thought Harrington's four-out, drive-and-kick, dribble drive-oriented motion offensive was frustrating enough, imagine what it's like with size.
Hall's Pick: Danvers over St. Joseph Central

DIVISION 2 GIRLS: READING (24-0) VS. TYNGSBOROUGH (23-1)
Reading Players to Watch: Olivia Healy, Jr. G; Morgan O'Brien, Jr. G; Melissa DalPozzo, Sr. F; Katie Clements, Sr. G; Katherine Callahan, Sr. G.
Tyngsborough Players to Watch: Lauren Iadarola, Jr. F; Amanda Hogan, Jr. G; Helena Hamilton, Sr. F; Morgan Mitchell, Jr. C.
Analysis: The Mid-Wach C champion Tigers avoided a clean sweep of Central Mass. on Wednesday with a dominant 50-35 win over Palmer out in Springfield, getting quality production out of Iadarola, Hogan and Hamilton along the way. But Reading has had the tougher route here, putting away stalwarts Wachusett, Bishop Feehan, Arlington Catholic (twice) and Scituate to get to DCU Center floor. Look for Healy to get hers, but most crucial in the Rockets' overtime defeat of Scituate on Tuesday night was the play of O'Brien, who scored 33 points. Look for her to be the X-factor in this one.
Hall's Pick: Reading over Tyngsborough

DIVISION 2 BOYS: BRIGHTON (21-4) VS. MAHAR (21-3)
Brighton Players to Watch: Malik James, Soph. G; Theo Oribhabor, Jr. G; Daivon Edwards, Jr. G; Prince Unaegbu, Jr. F; Jerard Mayes, Sr. F; Tre Dowman, Sr. C
Mahar Players to Watch: Travon Godette, Sr. F; Jesse LaCroix, Sr. G; Phil DiPhillipo, Sr. G; Josef Whitman, Jr. F; Nate Martin, Sr. C; Darwin Duncan, Sr. F.
Analysis: The relationship between Brighton coach Hugh Coleman and his mentor, legendary Charlestown coach Jack O'Brien, is well-documented. There are ripples of O'Brien's system and tactics sprinkled throughout the Bengals; and we can assure you, there are tons of coaches in Eastern Mass. rooting for Coleman, as good a guy as they come, on Saturday. That aside, the Bengals figure to be favorites in this one. Godette, DiPhillipo and LaCroix combined for impressive whipping of St. Bernard's on Tuesday, but they haven't seen anything like Brighton. Hardened by a brutal schedule, the Bengals lost their best player, sophomore Nick Simpson, before the playoffs, yet somehow haven't dropped off. There's plenty to like -- a frustrating extended 2-3 zone, a swarming press, and a gifted shooter in Edwards -- and I think this will be another big one for promising sophomore point guard Malik James.
Hall's Pick: Brighton over Mahar

DIVISION 1 GIRLS: ANDOVER (26-0) VS. HOLYOKE (22-2)
Andover Players to Watch: Nicole Boudreau, Sr. G; Ally Fazio, Sr. G; Devon Caveney, Sr. G; Angelice Gonzalez, Jr. G; Jackie Alois, Jr. F; Rebecca Alois, Soph. F.
Holyoke Players to Watch: Monique Heard, Sr. G; Alison Littles, Sr. C; Kirsy Segarra, Jr. G; Nyomi Walker, Jr. F; Selena Yates, Sr. G.
Analysis: Our friend and Pioneer Valley legend Adam Harrington is getting giddy over this "dream matchup", Western Mass.'s premier point guard versus, quite frankly, the best female guard to come through Massachusetts in over a decade. We think the crowd on hand will be impressed with Heard, but the Golden Warriors -- despite usually being undersized -- have proven again and again to be unstoppable. It just seems whatever the score is going into the fourth quarter, the Warriors simply turn around and take ownership of it. When you have a team of athletes that get up and down as quickly as these girls, plus a superstar with NBA range, that's a vicious combination.
Hall's Pick: Andover over Holyoke

DIVISION 1 BOYS: BROCKTON (23-2) VS. SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL (23-1)
Brockton Players to Watch: Jaylen Blakely, Jr. G; Drew Fiske, Sr. F; Jahleel Moise, Sr. F; Jean Thomas, Sr. F; Will Baker, Sr. G; Sayvonn Houston, Sr. C; Jamal Reuben, Sr. F; Jarrod "Bubba" Shelby.
Springfield Central Players to Watch: Tyrell Springer, Sr. G; Lee Turner, Sr. G; Chris Prophet, Sr. G; Kamari Robinson, Jr. F; Jevaughn McMillian, Sr. C; Trevor Bacon, Sr. F; Cornelius Tyson, Sr. G.
Analysis: This might be the best matchup of the day. I picked Springfield Central to win it all before the tournament started; and since the Eagles are still in it, I'm sticking with the pick. The X-factor here might be the health of McMillian, a game-changing 6-foot-7 shot-swatter who injured his ankle in Tuesday night's thrilling semifinal win over St. John's (Shrewsbury). If he can't go or is less than 100 percent, that could make the matchup down low with Brockton's 6-foot-6 Sayvonn Houston -- by many accounts, one of the state's most efficient true five -- very interesting. Yet it seems the Golden Eagles thrive on adversity -- in the Western Mass. Final, with Springer and Prophet fouled out -- Robinson held his own to stave off a furious Commerce comeback bid. On the flip side, the Boxers have been on a mission since getting trounced by nearly 20 by Charlestown right before the start of tournament play. Blakely has been one of the best point guards of the tournament, and the Boxers have gotten crucial shooting out of Baker, Fiske and Reuben. Look out for Moise, an athletic shot swatter with quality defensive skills.
Hall's Pick: Springfield Central over Brockton

LOWELL, Mass. -– Spurred by an early effort from Malik James (18 points, six rebounds, five assists), Brighton jumped out to an early 11-2 lead in the first quarter and held the lead the length of the game, winning 66-59 in the Division 2 North Boys’ Championship.

Although the margin of victory was only seven, the Bengals led by as much as fourteen in the fourth quarter, but could not open up the match.

“We [brought] intensity going into the game because we know if we had never came out, we could have been on the other of that scoreboard and we could have lost” James said after Brighton’s victory. “We were in this predicament last year, so we had to rebound, we had to play defense, run our sets like coach said. Knowing that our big man [Tre Dowman] was out, the intensity just won us the game.”

Not only did the Bengals’ usual suspects -- James, and junior shooting guard Daivon Edwards -- come up big for the Bengals, but underclassmen, some who started the year on junior varsity but due to ineligibility of others, these young guns were able to shine on the big stage, but they got dirty doing it.

The Bengals held their largest lead at 14 numerous times during the game, even in the fourth quarter. While Brighton held the lead, there were times -- like the last four minutes of the game -- that Wakefield would show life, such as senior Keyon Armstrong’s 5-for-5 campaign from the line in a matter of possessions, the final cutting the lead to 7 with 1:20 left in the game. Two free throws from junior forward Kendall Hamilton cut the margin to five at 63-58.

Close Cut: Brighton head coach Hugh Coleman believes in some way, that his team had an advantage with the Warriors when within five points, as opposed to maintaining that fourteen point lead or opening up the game for a definitive win.

“Anybody could be up by 14, you know, it eases the stress," Coleman said. "But what happens with us sometimes is we get complacent, and we think the game’s over, and it causes us to shift the momentum to a team that’s going to play hard for 32 minutes and get back in the game. So, sometimes, being up five is a little more comfortable.”

Spread Out: Getting this late into the playoffs, close games can go either way very fast. Top notch shooters, defensive specialists, pure energy players all have the possibility to turn a five point margin upside down within a minute, so how does Coleman believe that his squadron will survive their highest peak yet?

“We have enough experience of being up and being down and understanding the difference to stress time and situation," Coleman said. "How to work a clock, keep that lead going and have teams come after us and follow us so we can increase that lead.

Show Discipline: “Damani Carter, No. 24, JV guy that comes up, just comes out, get some big rebounds, gets a layup, hits a three, just a great job,” Coleman said of the 6-foot-2 sophomore. “I’m proud of our young guys and our bench because they’ve done a great job of just doing their part… If everyone takes care of their responsibility, as a whole, we’ll come out on top.”

MALDEN, Mass. — It wasn’t a situation that Tre Dowman has been put in, or one that is really expected of the 6-foot-7-inch center for the Brighton boys basketball team.

But there he was, on the free throw line with huge shots that could force Melrose to take a last-possession 3-pointer with less than 17 seconds on the clock for a chance to force overtime in the Div. 2 North semifinals.

With the entire Melrose section swaying the crowd against him, and a couple of those fans pushing the limits by going under the basket to try and dissuade the big man, Dowman drained the first and capped off the second as the No. 3 seed Bengals (19-3) held on to head to their second straight Div. 2 North finals in exciting fashion with a 65-59 victory Tuesday night at Malden High.

Dowman was confident that he could get the job done despite not scoring a point in the entire second half.

“I practice my free throws in practice, you know,” he said. “I feel like I’ve got ice water in my veins and I just keep practicing them. Practicing is easy for me. Every time I shoot free throws I feel like I can make 100 in a row.”

Dowman was quick to point out that he hasn’t conquered the feat yet, but for head coach Hugh Coleman, the two his senior center hit were more than enough.

“That’s not a spot that he’s normally in,” said Coleman with a big smile on his face. “He asks me to shoot 3’s and all this other stuff. I tease him and said no you are a big guy. But he’s got a nice little touch...Tre stepped up with a lot of confidence and knocked him down. I’m very proud of him.”

The Red Raiders (20-3) got a good look on a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the corner from Matt Sherlock, but his attempt was a little bit too strong and Malik James handled the rebound and subsequently knocked down a pair of freebies to further extend the lead for the Bengals.

Third Quarter Shooting: The Bengals were a woeful 0-for-7 from distance in the first half until Daivon Edwards got going in the third quarter.

Edwards canned three 3-pointers in the third period and Brighton started to race away from the Red Raiders 15-2 run to end the quarter for a 53-39 lead.

Edwards finished with 16 points and also hit a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to nine with two minutes to go in the game before Jalen Adams fueled a comeback, most notably with a three to bring the deficit to one with under 30 seconds left, for Melrose.

Pressure Brings Red Raiders Back: James was clearly the most prolific ball-handler on the court between the two teams, but even he was having a hard time dealing with the Red Raiders defense in the fourth quarter. Melrose finally switched to a suffocating full-court man press in to fuel a 12-0 run to climb back into the game in the early parts of the fourth quarter.

“That is how we play it,” said Melrose head coach Mike Kasprzak. “We are usually in a way better situation in that point and then we put it on and it’s a different story. When you have to come down from three or four possessions down, it’s tough.”

James felt a heavy burden of bringing the ball up, especially with Nick Simpson on the sidelines living and dying with every made bucket, and the sophomore made up for several turnovers with three clutch free throws at the end of the game.

“There was a lot of pressure on my shoulders that I had to carry,” said James, who finished with a game-high 29 points. “I couldn’t let nobody down, it was all on my shoulders.”

ROXBURY, Mass. -- Madison Park came from behind 54-51 to start the fourth quarter and swung the game six points to finish out the Brighton Bengals 67-64 on their home court to advance to tomorrow's Boston City Championship final against East Boston.

"These guys exemplify MP heart, MP character, MP pride, MP find-a-way-to-win," said Madison Park coach Dennis Wilson of his squad.

Wilson admitted that this bunch may not have as much raw talent as he has seen in the past, the intangible factor of resilience is strong within this cohort, and it was exemplified in the fourth quarter.

O’Shea Joy tied up the game with a three pointer to begin the fourth (22 points on the night, five 3-pointers), but Brighton was quickly back up by 3 after a score by Jerad Mayers and a free throw by Theo Oribhabor. A steal by Dane Lawladownie and a three point-play by Rayshawn Matthews would give tie it up for the Cardinals, and a free throw by Stewart at 5:39 and a bucket at 5:00 would put MP up 60-57, a lead that they would not let go of from there in.

Brighton’s Malik James scored a free throw with 4:40 left, but banging in the post, MP’s David Stewart drew a foul and made one free throw putting the Cardinals back up by three with 4:30 left. Brighton Daivon Edwards scored a two to make it a one-point game, but again, Madison’s Stewart scored a deuce to make the game 63-60 and 57 seconds later Joy hit a basket to put Madison ahead 65-60 with 2:10 left in the match.

Brighton’s Tre Dowman scored down low then Harper hit two free throws with 1:39 left to bring the Bengals within one at 65-64 and a fighting chance at retaking the lead with a turnover. Instead, Madison’s Matthews scored a crucial baseline drop with a minute left. Brighton came back down the court letting the ball rain, but shot after shot failed to fall. At :16.2, a Brighton shot went off a Madison player giving them the ball and a fresh chance to tie it up.

Instead of Oribhabor’s shot falling and Brighton taking the game to OT, Matthews grabbed another rebound down low. Failing to score on the possession, Brighton had one final chance to tie the game up, but the nearly half court shot made it close to the hop but did not kiss the net, preserving MP’s 67-64 victory and a shot at donning the Boston City League crown.

Get It Done: Located in the heart of Roxbury, Wilson is used to seeing great talent come through his doors -- some his players, some coming to Madison Park for recreational play. This year, Wilson says that there is even less talent on his roster than in previous years, but he had adapted a slogan that fits a scrappy team well.

“Get It Done”, says Wilson of his team’s motto for the season. “It ain’t about a star studded cast, it’s about dudes that step up and get it done.”

Ball So Hard: A 5-foot-10 guard playing the post and grabbing rebounds? Yes.

MP captain Rashawn Matthews may not have had a height advantage today, but taking a cue from the “Get It Done” campaign started by coach Wilson, Matthews was able to pull in seven rebounds and score 10 points on the day, including five of his team’s 16 in the fourth quarter.

“I knew in order for us to be competitive in this game, we were going to have to box out because they had a couple of big boys and they get a lot of offensive rebounds.”

ACTON, Mass. -- Expressing the feeling of many coaches in the Division 1 North district, Acton-Boxborough head coach Rick Kilpatrick mused following the Colonials' game with Brighton tonight that his bracket is "extremely" wide open.

And in this season of unlikely contenders and wild upsets, Kilpatrick's squad had just made a case for why they should be considered contenders, not underdogs, in the North. Against a Brighton lineup superior in athleticism, speed and overall skill -- even with star forward Nick Simpson done for the season due to grades -- the Colonials wore them down with careful execution and clean movement around the halfcourt, giving way to another huge night for senior center Kevin LaFrancis (31 points, 15 rebounds) in a 59-45 win.

"We wanted to schedule this, because it's a type of team we don't see often in our league," LaFrancis said. "We definitely had to get back to basics, and really box out, because they are really athletic."

The Colonials (17-1) led 13-4 after one period, and extended their lead to 20-10 in the second quarter before the Bengals (16-2) stormed back with back-to-back-to-back three-pointers from Daivon Edwards (11 points), cutting the lead to one. A-B quickly regrouped, and down the stretch were able to pull away with timely execution and steady feeds to LaFrancis and Joey Flannery (15 points).

In the third quarter, for instance, the 6-foot-6 LaFrancis continued to take the ball inside, and took hard bump after hard bump to the tune of 12 free throw attempts for the stanza. He was 8-for-12 from the line in the third, and 11-for-16 overall from the stripe.

"On pace for 48 (free throw attempts)? No, I've never had a quarter like that," LaFrancis laughed of the third quarter. "It was tough, but you just have to stay with it. I was struggling with the free throws towards the end of the quarter, but I started to get my stroke back at the end, so it was good."

The Bengals pride themselves on dictating a frenetic tempo, but the Colonials took charge of the game's pace early and made it stick. On ball reversals, LaFrancis would often step out from underneath the hoop, catch and drive, taking advantage of some lapses in help defense.

At the other end, A-B settled into a 2-3 zone and held Brighton to just a 31 percent clip from the field, including 2-for-13 in the first quarter and 1-for-11 in the final frame.

All of it comes in the absence of Jake Pilecki. The star senior forward came down with a stomach bug, and did not dress.

"It's a positive for us, hopefully it's a confidence builder," Kilpatrick said. "Jake's really important to us, especially defensively. He's a good passer, he just does a lot of good things. We told the guys, when someone's missing, it's opportunities for other guys. I thought that other guys stepped it up and did a nice job tonight."

Breaking the press: One of the ways Brighton creates a hectic tempo is with its vaunted diamond-and-one press. Dressing just eight players tonight, head coach Hugh Coleman rolled out some different permutations of the press, but the Colonials were able to break it patiently, with clean diagonal passes from sideline to sideline.

"All we talked about yesterday, and before the game today, was catch before you dribble," Kilpatrick said. "If you don't look before you dribble, you're going to dribble into trouble. So just catch and try to pass through it, and we worked on that a lot in practice yesterday. I don't know what our turnover numbers were, but I don't think they were too bad."

Outnumbered, but not outdone: For the Bengals, times like these -- dressing just eight, missing key players -- call for players to step up and make a name for themselves. Tonight, that meant a more elevated role down low for senior forward Jerard Mayes, who matched up with LaFrancis for most of the night and held his own.

The 6-foot-4 senior notched a double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds) and was 9-for-12 from the field. Coleman praised the big guy's effort afterwards.

"We knew that losing Nick was going to be big for us, but we've got other guys that can step up," Coleman said. "And Jerard stepped up today."

ROXBURY, Mass. -- Their energetic student section was dancing in the bleachers. Their promising young point guard was all smiles, ear to ear, with an extra bit of jump in his stride. And when the final buzzer rang, their spiritual head coach's voice had grown so hoarse he could barely speak.

The Brighton Bengals were in rare form tonight against their Boston South rivals New Mission, tonight in a home game at Latin Academy, so excuse all parties involved for expending -- or, in head coach Hugh Coleman's case, exhausting -- bountiful bursts of energy.

When these two teams met last month before a frenetic crowd at the Tobin Community Center, the Bengals snuck out of the building with a two-point comeback victory, and Coleman's first win over the Titans in his tenure at Brighton. But tonight, before another capacity crowd, the Bengals pulled off a rare sweep of a team that just plain doesn't get swept, delivering the Titans a 76-53 haymaker to take control of the South division and assure themselves a spot the Boston City League Championship tournament at the end of this month.

"They [Mission] were the standard in our league, of excellence, and the team to beat," said Coleman, growling and straining his hoarse voice to make out words. "We've been measuring ourselves against them, and for two years couldn't get over the top.

"We got close last year in the D2 North Final [a 55-53 loss], so this year it was important for us to get the first win. And I thought again, we came out and played well, and did some things to slow them down. So it means a lot, for now, but we're most likely going to see them again in the state tournament, or in the City's."

The Titans (11-4) took their only lead of the game right at the beginning, a Tayon Watson three-pointer from the wing giving them a 5-2 advantage. From then on, the Bengals (15-1) seized control forcefully, using an aggressive 1-2-1-1 press to force a slew of turnovers and close out the quarter on an 18-4 run. Daivon Edwards (17 points, five rebounds) hit two 3-pointers to spark the run.

More damage came in the second quarter, when sophomore point guard Malik James (20 points, 12 assists, five rebounds) pushed Brighton's advantage out to 34-16 with a momentum-swaying three-point play. James pulled up to the left elbow, crossed his man up to a loud chorus of approval from the crowd, and pulled back for a 15-foot fadeaway that drew a foul from his defender in the process.

"It was basically a four-low iso, and coach was telling us to keep going," James said. "So I hit him with a crossover and just pulled up."

The Bengals led 38-24 at the half, forcing 15 Mission turnovers over the first 16 minutes, and led 54-39 through three. Sophomore forward Nick Simpson added 16 points and eight rebounds in the win, while junior guard Theo Oribhabor added 15 points, five assists and five rebounds.

"[We were] real energized, practice was crazy yesterday," James said. "Real energetic, and then we just left everything out there. We went after everything."

Shaquan Murray led Mission with 11 points, while DaShawn Fennell added 10 points and junior forward Isshiah Coleman had 10 rebounds.

Packing the pressure: Coleman toiled under legendary head coach Jack O'Brien at Charlestown during their historic run of dominance at the start of the 21st Century, winning five Division 2 state titles in six seasons, and one of the staples of O'Brien's reign he has brought with him to Brighton is the method in which players attack in full-court pressure.

Emphasis on attack, by the way. The Bengals take proper spacing and attack at angles, which tonight led to an aggressive press -- especially with their diamond-and-one look, which placed four defenders in a diamond formation about the three-point arc, and left the big man 40 to 50 feet back as a safety valve.

In turn, Mission was forced into some poor decisions with the ball, getting trapped and turning the ball over around midcourt a number of times and yielding some open perimeter looks on the fast break. When they did get shots off, the Bengals controlled the glass, including a 23-12 advantange on the boards in the first half.

"It's a good question," Coleman said when asked how much he wanted to dictate tempo. "My coaches, after a couple fouls, want to pull the press off. But I feel when you sit back in a zone, you get lackadaisical. So I really wanted to push the tempo, dictate it, get us going up and down, because our guys are really good in the open court.

"I thought that if we could get them in a couple good trap situations, force them to speed it up a bit, that would help us out. And it worked."

James' confidence growing: As much as James excites fans at time with his ballhandling ability and end-to-end rushes, it's his confidence that Coleman says is his best quality at the moment.

"He's always been a special, talented kid," Coleman said. "He has skills. But when his confidence is going, that's everything. He can get people the ball, he can get to the lane, play good defense, and be a great leader. So when his confidence up, it helps our team overall. That's the energy level we want."

Pyrrhic victory? Emotions are running high in Brighton, off to the program's best start in years despite not having a home gym due to renovations, but the Bengals may soon have to deal with more adversity.

Coleman confirmed to ESPNBoston.com following the win that he expects to lose Simpson and junior point guard Nate Hogan either by the end of this week or next week due to academics. Simpson has been consistently one of the Bengals' best performers, if not their most versatile threat in the frontcourt, posting double-double figures nearly nightly.

Down the other end, Mission head coach Cory McCarthy confirmed to ESPNBoston.com that he has lost promising freshman point guard Greg Bridges, also due to academics. Bridges was averaging 20 points and eight rebounds in his first year with the Titans.

ROXBURY, Mass. — The last three years haven’t been too kind to Hugh Coleman and his Brighton High basketball team whenever his team goes on the court against Boston City League rival New Mission.

In their previous five attempts in that timespan, the Bengals have been on the opposite end of the scoreboard. The old saying is that the third time is a charm, well in this instance Coleman and the Bengals needed to double it.

Brighton finally snapped the streak with a 60-58 victory over New Mission (5-3) last night at the Tobin Community Center. Theo Oribhabor’s late lay-in was the game-winner and a defensive stand with 19 seconds helped the Bengals hold on to the lead and run their record to 7-1 on the season.

“We just had to gut it out,” said Coleman. “We knew we had the capabilities and we had to climb the mountain. That’s the first step. It’s only a regular season game, but for our guys moral and the fact that we know we are capable it was big.”

The players — and the entire crowd at the Tobin for that matter — were into this one from the tipoff, and for Nick Simpson, who finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, this victory was a statement win in a condensed division inside the city limits.

“It means a lot,” said Simpson. “Last year we had a good team, but this year we had a better team and we tried to prove that to them. We came out and did what we did. We crashed rebounds. … We played stronger as a team and we came out with the win.”

The Comeback: Things weren’t looking good for the Bengals early on after a horrid first quarter offensively that saw them only score 5 points and shoot 2-of-15 from the line.

The second quarter brought better results with better shot selection and a spirited eight-point effort from Simpson. The Bengals were 0-for-9 from deep in the first quarter and Daivon Edwards’ 3-ball, the lone one of the half, brought the score to 30-25 in favor of New Mission before the break.

“We settled, and there were a lot of jitters because of the energy of the game,” said Coleman. “Once we got settled in then we started getting a couple of layups and shots like that.”

Defensive Switch: Coleman had his team come out in a 3-2 zone, with some of his bigger, more athletic wings manning the top of the zone to keep the Titans from getting good outside looks. After falling down by 15 in the second quarter, the Bengals head coach decided to make a change to a press defense to try and hurry up the Titans.

“I felt like they were getting comfortable (with the 3-2),” said Coleman. “I was telling my coaching staff that we need to pick up the pressure for our sake. We were getting too complacent and I wanted us to pick it up a little bit and it worked.”

That pressure paid off late in the game when Oribhabor picked off a pass in the Titans backcourt setting up Malik James’ tying drive to the hoop for the 58-all score. Oribhabor would post the game-winning bucked with a drive and move to his left hand with under a minute left to go in the game.