Marathon Explosions

As we all know by now, one of the best, most celebrated days in Boston sports came to an abrupt halt when two explosions rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon. At this point, most facts remain unclear. Emergency responders are working hard to take care of the victims, prevent any other devices from detonating, and discover who and what is responsible for this tragedy.

In a time like this sports scores and running times lose their meaning. Times like these are about people.

I feel it's important to focus on things we are grateful for when such horrors occur. Footage just after the explosions demonstrates the incredible compassion and courage of humanity. Firefighters, Police, paramedics, nurses, doctors, soldiers, volunteers, runners, passersby, all risking their lives in order to help those injured by these explosions.

It's easy to focus on how horrific people can be when things like this happen. However, it's vital to remember how caring and strong people can be in the most difficult and frightening of times.

Violence will always be defeated so long as good people outnumber and outwork violent people.

BRIGHTON WINS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

For the first time since 2003, a City Champion in boys' basketball has gone on to become a State Champion. In '03 it was Charlestown. In 2013 it was Brighton, under the guidance of head coach Hugh Coleman, who once played and coached at Charlestown. This is the first time in school history that Brighton has won both the City and the State Championships.

The Bengals beat Western Mass champs South Hadley 59-41 at the DCU Center Saturday afternoon.

Malik James, whose leadership was praised by Coach Coleman after the game, led the Bengals in scoring with 16 points. Nick Simpson added 11, and Daivon Edwards scored 10. As was the case throughout the season, the Bengals had too many weapons for their opponent to keep up with, and too many for them to stop.

Brighton ended their season with an 8-game winning streak. They beat Southie and New Mission in the City Championship. They then worked their way through the Division 2 North bracket. It was not an easy trip to the Garden and then to Worcester. The Bengals beat Scituate by 3 points in the EMass finals. They beat previously undefeated Melrose by 3 points in the D2 North semis. And even though Brighton was never in serious trouble against South Hadley, they were never able to pull away and feel comfortable.

For Brighton, each close win, and each loss in the regular season, served as a lesson. And what drove Brighton to this Championship was their ability to grow from those lessons. Their 21 point loss to Charlestown back in December was a wake-up call. Their loss to Dorchester at the end of the regular season was a reminder of what can happen if they took their foot off the gas pedal. Their 74-66 victory over then #1 ranked Danvers in the Comcast Classic was a reminder of what can happen when they play at their best.

We'll have more about this team, this season, these players, and these coaches. This was a great team, a memorable season, and a great achievement for both Brighton High School and the City of Boston.

Congratulation, Brighton.

Girls' Basketball: O'Bryant and New Mission Advance in State Tournaments

The O'Bryant Tigers beat Somerset Berkley 4-34 last night. O'Bryant advances to the Division 2 South quarterfinals to play Scituate. The game will be played Friday night at 7 at Madison Park.

New Mission blew out Minuteman 47-18. The Titans will play in the D4 North quarterfinals against Shawsheen Regional Technical School. The game will be Friday night at Shawsheen, which is in Billerica.

South Boston lost to Amesbury 60-42.

Boston Latin School fell to Lexington 41-27.

The City League has 4 teams still competing in the Girls' Basketball State Tournaments. Here are the upcoming games:

Friday:
7:00pm - Belmont at Latin Academy
7:00pm - Scituate at O'Bryant
7:00pm - New Mission at Shawsheen
7:00pm - Fenway at Pope John (note: this game was originally listed as a Sunday game)

Five City League Teams Advance in State Basketball Tournaments

Five City League teams have advanced in their State Tournaments so far. The boys' teams from Brighton, New Mission, Latin Academy and Snowden all won their tournament openers. Fenway's girls' team also won. Here's an update on all the City League teams in the tournaments:

Monday's games:
Boys':
Latin Academy beat Chelsea 68-43. The Dragons will play their next game Thursday night at 7 against North Andover, the #2 seed in the Division 2 North bracket. The game will be played at North Andover High School.

Dover-Sherborn beat O'Bryant 67-48 to eliminate them from the Division 3 South tournament. The Burke was also eliminated from that tournament, 61-53, by Ashland.

Girls':
West Roxbury took a tough loss to Quincy, 64-26

Tuesday's games:
Boys':
The Brighton Bengals advanced to the D2 North quarterfinals by edging Burlington 62-60. Brighton will face Salem Friday night at 7.

New Mission also advanced to the D2 North quarterfinals. The Titans beat Reading 60-57. They'll face the winner of the Melrose/Arlington game, Saturday night at 7.

Snowden beat Mystic Valley 42-38 and advanced to the D4 North quarterfinals. They'll play Matignon at Somerville High School, Friday night at 7.

English lost 74-43 to Milton.

East Boston fell to Everett 77-65.

South Boston lost to Minuteman 71-56.

Girls':
Fenway crushed Notre Dame-Lawrence 53-21. They'll continue their title defense against Pope John on Sunday.

Charlestown lost to Belmont 67-31. Belmont will play Latin Academy Friday night at 7.

English fell to Dedham 60-34

Here are the upcoming games...

Tonight:
Girls' Games:
7:00pm - Boston Latin @ Lexington
7:00pm - Somerset Berkley @ O'Bryant (game played at Madison Park)
7:00pm - Amesbury @ South Boston (location TBD)
7:00pm - Minuteman @ New Mission

Thursday:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - Madison Park @ Newton North
7:00pm - Medfield @ Dorchester (game played at Latin Academy)
7:00pm - Latin Academy @ North Andover

Friday:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - Brighton @ Salem (location TBD)
7:00pm - Snowden @ Matignon (game played at Somerville HS)

Girls' Games:
7:00pm - Belmont @ Latin Academy

Saturday:
Boys' Game:
7:00pm - New Mission vs. Arlington OR Melrose (location TBD)

Sunday:
Girls' Game:
Time TBD - Fenway @ Pope John (location TBD)

Latin Academy Girls' Hockey in State Tournament for the First Time in Five Years

Latin Academy girls' hockey coach Ronald Ford expected his team to be a "little bit better" than last year. Last year they were 3-17, and were winless the season before that. He expected some improvement, but did not expect his team to be as good as they were. This year the Dragons won 10 games, lost 6, and tied 4. They finished 4th in the East Division of the mostly suburban Southeastern Massachusetts Girls' Hockey League (SEMGHL). And they qualified for the State Tournament for the first time in 5 years.

The team is led by a few key seniors, particularly goalie Natalie Lombardi, a two-time SEMGHL All-Star...

...but overall they're still a young squad. They have 4 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 5 freshman on their roster. Along with an 8th grader, and two 7th graders. So even when Lombardi and her classmates graduate, there will be a new core of experienced players in position to build on the success of this season.

Coach Ford attributes that success to "Speed, strength, and accuracy." Along with hard work. And going into the State Tournament, he wants his team to continue that hard work as well as reduce mental mistakes. Mainly, though, he wants to "Make sure [the girls] are having fun, and not worrying about the magnitude of the game, let them focus on what they need to be doing."

Latin Academy will face Martha's Vineyard Monday afternoon at 3:00pm in the preliminary round of the Division 2 tournament. The game will be held at the Murphy Memorial Rink in South Boston. BLA and Martha's Vineyard are in the same division in the SEMGHL, and played each other twice this season. BLA lost 4-1 to them in December, and the teams tied 2-2 on February 18th.

Last year this team won 3 games. This year they're hosting a State Tournament game.

20 City League Teams Qualify for State Basketball Tournaments

The City League will send 20 basketball teams (12 boys' and 8 girls' teams) to state tournaments. Tournament games start Monday. Here are the City League teams that qualified, as well as which tournament bracket they'll compete in:

Boys' Teams:
East Boston - Division 1 North
Madison Park - Division 1 South
West Roxbury - Division 1 South
Brighton - Division 2 North
New Mission - Division 2 North
Latin Academy - Division 2 North
Dorchester - Division 2 South
English - Division 2 South
South Boston - Division 3 North
O'Bryant - Division 3 South
Burke - Division 3 South
Snowden - Division 4 North

City Champions Brighton are a 5 seed in the D2 North bracket. City runners up New Mission are an 8 seed. Dorchester is the #7 seed in Division 3 South.

Girls' Teams:
West Roxbury - Division 1 South
Latin Academy - Division 2 North
Charlestown - Division 2 North
O'Bryant - Division 2 South
South Boston - Division 3 North
English - Division 3 South
New Mission - Division 4 North
Fenway - Division 4 North

Boston Latin School, which doesn't compete in the City League but is a Boston Public School, qualified for the Division 1 North tournament. Latin Academy will be the #2 seed in Division 2 North. O'Bryant and South Boston are 3 seeds in their respective tournaments. New Mission is the #6 seed in D4 North.

Here is the schedule of games this week. Boston Urban Sports will update this schedule as these tournaments play out...

MONDAY 2/25:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - Chelsea @ Latin Academy
7:00pm - Dover-Sherborn @ O'Bryant (game played at Madison Park)
7:00pm - Burke @ Ashland

Girls' Games:
7:00pm - Quincy @ West Roxbury

TUESDAY 2/26:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - East Boston @ Everett
7:00pm - Newton South @ West Roxbury
7:00pm - Burlington @ Brighton (game played at Latin Academy)
7:00pm - Reading @ New Mission
7:00pm - English @ Milton
7:00pm - South Boston @ Minuteman
7:00pm - Snowden @ Mystic Valley

Girls' Games:
4:30pm - Dedham @ English
7:00pm - Charlestown @ Belmont
7:00pm - Fenway @ Notre Dame-Lawrence (game played at Greater Lawrence Technical School)

WEDNESDAY 2/27:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - O'Bryant @ Bishop Feehan (if O'Bryant beats Dover-Sherborn on Monday)
7:00pm - Burke @ Cardinal Spellman (if Burke beats Ashland on Monday)

Girls' Games:
7:00pm - Boston Latin @ Lexington
7:00pm - Somerset Berkley @ O'Bryant (game played at Madison Park)
7:00pm - Amesbury @ South Boston (location TBD)
7:00pm - Minuteman @ New Mission
7:00pm - West Roxbury @ Braintree (if West Roxbury beats Quincy on Monday)

THURSDAY 2/28:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - Madison Park @ Newton North
7:00pm - Medfield @ Dorchester (location TBD)
7:00pm - West Roxbury @ Mansfield (if West Roxbury beats Newton South on Tuesday)
7:00pm - Latin Academy @ North Andover (if BLA beats Chelsea on Monday)
7:00pm - English @ Dennis-Yarmouth (if English beats Milton on Tuesday)

Girls' Games:
7:00pm - English @ Abington (if English beats Dedham on Tuesday)

FRIDAY 3/1:
Boys' Games:
7:00pm - Snowden @ Matignon (if Snowden beats Mystic Valley on Tuesday)

Girls' Games:
7:00pm - Charlestown OR Belmont @ Latin Academy (BLA will host the winner of Tuesday's game between Charlestown and Belmont)

Girls' Ice Hockey: Scituate 3, Boston Latin Academy 2

Full Photo Gallery on our Facebook page

The Latin Academy Dragons finished their regular season with a tough loss on the road to Scituate, one of the top teams in the Southeastern Mass. Girls' Hockey League.

BLA took a 1-0 lead in the 1st when senior forward Jordan Fleming scored an opportunistic Power Play goal from the high slot.

In the 1st period, the Dragons were able to frustrate Scituate's attempts to carry the puck into the zone. In the 2nd, Scituate figured out how to get through and were able to put massive pressure on the Dragons' net. But Latin Academy goalie Natalie Lombardi made save after save to keep Scituate from scoring. Lombardi was especially good when the Dragons were shorthanded.

Scituate were eventually able to slip one past Lombardi on a 2-on-1 breakaway to tie the game at 1-1.

Latin Academy quickly retook the lead when, after serving a penalty, junior Kathleen Torpey emerged from the penalty box and received a long pass from Rachel Wells. Torpey drove to the net all alone and put BLA up 2-1.

The penalties finally caught up to BLA in the 3rd. They'd killed 3 straight Scituate Power Plays. With their 4th Power Play, Scituate finally capitalized. Less than a minute later Scituate scored again to take a 3-2 lead.

In the closing minutes the Dragons were able to create chances, but Scituate's goalie made tough stops to keep her team in front.

Latin Academy's regular season may have ended with a loss, but they're not done playing. They'll be in the State Tournament for the first time in 5 years, with a 10-6-4 record. We'll have more on Latin Academy's tremendous season tomorrow.