The Bedford High School Buccaneers blasted into the MIAA Division 2 Final Four on Friday night with an exclamation point, humbling the boys’ basketball team from Middleborough High School, 69-43, at Tewksbury Memorial High School.
After falling behind early, 7-3 with four turnovers, the Bucs established dominance with a 20-2 run. They led by 11 at the half, then outscored the Sachems, 24-8, in the third quarter.
Bedford, now 19-3, will play the winner of Saturday night’s quarterfinal match between Scituate and Sharon. The semifinals will likely be played on Monday or Tuesday, location and time to be announced.
This is the fourth trip to the state semifinals in the annals of BHS boys’ basketball, the first since 2016. Bedford has never advanced to the state championship finals.
“We were due for a game like this,” said third-year Head Coach Anthony Halls. “We were prepared. Defensively, we were ready to play, and the offense took care of itself. The guys were able to wear them down with our post pressure.”
Indeed, the Bucs only attempted five shots from outside the arc, making one.
Camdyn Shoesmith (20 points) and Justice Buchannan (18 points) led the offense as they have all season. Junior Keston Paul came off the bench to contribute 10 points. Justin Liberman scored seven points and added six rebounds and five assists. Mekhi Volcy scored six points and Jireh Joseph slammed a two-handed dunk off a breakaway feed in the second quarter, adding two more points.
The Bedford defense, for the third straight postseason game and the 11th time this season, held its opponent to fewer than 50 points. Middleborough turned the ball more than 20 times.
“It’s hard to get to this stage,” Halls observed. He said the Bucs, who were ranked 14th in Division 2 at the end of the season, will get ready for the next stage of their quest with a practice on Sunday.
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