Following their March 16 loss to top-seeded Charlestown for the MIAA Division state championship, members of the Old Rochester Regional High School boys’ basketball team were disappointed in the ending. But don’t let that make you forget how well they did as a team this season.
“We were obviously very disappointed, but very few kids get an opportunity to play at that point. The accomplishment at the end of the day is more than the disappointment,” said ORR head coach Steve Carvalho.
Coming into the 2023-24 season, Old Rochester lost four of their five starters from the previous season. This meant some players had to step into new roles.
“Two of our senior captains, Chase Besancon and John Butler, came off the bench last year. I knew they were both going to blend right into their roles,” said Carvalho. “Gavin Martin led the league in assists, which is a great accomplishment … Zach Mourao, too, what a fabulous year he had.”
The starters weren’t the only ones stepping it up, however.
“Finn Kavanagh came up this year from (junior varsity) and gave us some good minutes as a sixth man,” said Carvalho.
The Bulldogs went on to dominate the South Coast Conference and earn the second seed in the state tournament, winning home playoff games against Foxborough, Salem and Dover-Sherborn before winning a neutral-site semifinal against Pittsfield. They finished with a 21-5 overall record.
Butler, Besancon and Maurao were selected by coaches as SCC All-Stars. Butler was selected as ORR’s candidate for the Dave Cowens Award, a regional recognition that goes to an exceptional student-athlete in both boys and girls basketball in southeastern Massachusetts.
Sports Roundup
By Aiden Comorosky