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The Winchester High boys basketball team, the 22nd seed, will take on Middlesex League rival Lexington, the 11th seed, to begin the Division 1 state tournament in the Round of 32 on Friday night, Feb. 27, starting at 6 p.m.
These teams are so evenly matched, beginning with the fact they both have identical 16-4 records. They also played each other twice during the regular season, which each side winning once.
On Dec. 22 at home, the Red & Black came out on top, 77-74, while on Feb. 3 at Lexington, they dropped a 69-62 decision. But somehow, it was the Minutemen, who got the nod to host the game, according to the final MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) power rankings.
For the record, a total of 42 teams qualified for the playoffs from this division.
While head coach John Fleming and his team have been prepping for Friday night’s game, the veteran Winchester mentor also took time to recognize three of his seniors, who were voted on by his peers to be among the league’s best this season.
Leading the way is co-captain Dawson English, who’s this year’s Liberty Division MVP. He’s also an All-League player, which is an exclusive club of only the top five players throughout the Middlesex League in both the Freedom and Liberty Divisions.
“(Dawson) worked hard to get (to) this season after tearing his ACL last March,” said Fleming. “After playing restricted minutes in the first few games this season, it (became increasingly difficult) to keep him off the court. He does a lot for us on offense as a finisher and facilitator, especially with Harrison (Burbine) now out (with an injury), and on defense, he does a nice job covering both guards and forwards, while also rebounding well on both ends of the court.”
Dawson’s teammates Carson Sarpong, also a team captain, and Burbine made the league all-star team. In evaluating the play of Sarpong, Fleming said that he “proved to be one of the top big guys in the league this season. Other teams had to gameplan around him on both ends of the court.”
As a defensive specialist, Sarpong’s height has been very disruptive for opposing teams throughout the season, while his offense continued to get better, according to Fleming, who then added, “he’s now finishing at a higher rate, and also making some good passes out of the post.”
Fleming had these thoughts on his other senior all-star, Harrison Burbine, who was one of the top point guards in the league this year.
“(Burbine) was able to knock down some big shots this year, as well as create plays for his teammates, while also coming up with some timely steals on defense,” the coach said. “He was injured against Belmont on Feb. 10, and we missed him against Arlington in our last regular season game, and will continue to miss him in the tournament.”
With Burbine out, English and Sarpong will now be counted on to rally the troops for hopefully a long postseason run, starting with the opener at aforementioned Lexington Friday night.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
