Varsity Basketball a er defeating Milton Academy 59-56 in the championship game.
The Boys’ Varsity Basketball team had a year to remember, finishing with a record of 22-5 and taking home the New England Championship in the process. The boys’ journey to the title was one to be remembered. After entering the tournament seeded fifth, the boys opened the tournament against Suffield Academy. After losing earlier in the season to Suffield 49-63, they were hoping for a better result the second time around. Jaylan “Juice” Sandifer ’18 hit a game winning layup with a second on the clock to give Choate a 51-50 over Suffield. In the next round, the boys beat Tabor 62-52, earning them a spot in the championship game against Milton Academy. The boys defeated Milton 59-56 thanks to two threes by captain Caden Dumas ’18 and two clutch free throws by captain Brad Landry ’18.
When asked about what made this year’s team special Dumas felt that, “In terms of talent I think we had a little bit stronger of a team than in years past, and we had some experience this year as well. However, the most important thing for us was chemistry. We all meshed together very well as a team and complemented each other in such a way that the team as a whole was much stronger than its individual parts.” The team went into the tournament with the same mentality they have had all season. “We just continued to practice how we had been and made sure to dial our focus in a little more. We knew if we improved a tiny bit each day, we’d be in a good spot,” Dumas added. Heading into the championship, Dumas believed, “For the championship we knew how far we had come, so everybody just really wanted to finish the job. Everyone was very dialed in during the last couple practices.”
After winning the tournament, several awards were presented to some of the team’s top players. Jayden Nixon ’18 was added to the All-NEPSAC Class A team while Dumas, Landry, Sandifer and Jake Sullivan ’18 all were awarded All-NEPSAC honorable mentions. Sandifer also won New England Championships MVP, and according to Dumas, “Juice won tournament MVP for his outstanding hustle, defense, and ability to score in the post.” Repeating this success will be no easy feat after graduating several key contributors this year, but the team still has a good shot at competing for another title at New England’s next year.
