Basketball, Hockey Teams Capture Catholic Conference Titles
West Roxbury, MA — Catholic Memorial has two more conference championships to be proud of.
On February 3, the basketball team beat BC High for their 29th Catholic Conference Championship while the hockey team earned their 25th title on February 3 in a thrilling showdown at St. John's Prep.
On February 3, the basketball team beat BC High for their 29th Catholic Conference Championship while the hockey team earned their 25th title on February 3 in a thrilling showdown at St. John's Prep.
The basketball team was pushed by 20-point nights from Malachi Bryant ‘23 and Peter Gellene ‘24. Jake Cofield '24 also pitched in 14 points and eight rebounds.
“BC High is a tough team. Every time we would hit them with a punch they would come back, but I’m proud of the way our guys responded and it’s great to have the Catholic Conference Championship back at CM where it belongs,” CM head coach Denis Tobin said after the game. “To run through the Catholic Conference at 9-1 is very impressive, I haven’t had many teams able to do it.
Behind the interior play of Cofield, CM jumped out to a 14-2 lead to start the game. The center has been a force under the basket on both sides of the court all season and punished BC High with a pair of first-quarter dunks and putbacks that placed CM in control of the game.
Outside baskets by Gellene and Corey Dolison ‘24 gave CM a 21-11 lead at the end of the first. By halftime, the 10-point advantage remained as the Eagles struggled to find answers for Gellene’s outside shot and his mid-range game that saw him hit multiple 15-footers.
Despite CM leading by as much as 19 points in the third quarter, BC High would get to within eight, but the Knights ended the third on a 10-2 run behind five points from Dolison to go into the fourth up 61-44 and with a lead that the Eagles would not be able to overcome.
For the hockey team, their win felt like Déjà vu. Just like last year, the title came down to a game between CM and Prep and just like last year, it was CM celebrating a conference win.
With the 5-3 win, the Knights also avenged their only conference loss of the year and earned a statement win over one of the powerhouses of Massachusetts high school hockey.
“They competed and they skated hard, and they played for each other, you know. And that was our kind of motto for the year to play for each other. Not just with each other, and we saw that,” hockey coach Larry Rooney said after the game.
Both teams will now look towards the postseason, where they are both expected to get top seeds and home court/ice.
Special teams was the key for the Knights as they scored three of their goals on the power play, starting with a goal from Anthony Pellitteri '25 just over two minutes into the game.
Prep would come back and tie the game a minute later before taking a 2-1 lead into the third period when CM began to find the back of the net.
Joe Marchi ‘25 tied the game with the team’s second power-play goal before Mike Corbett '24 gave the Knights a 3-2 lead. Morgan Lenehan’s ‘25 goal with just over five minutes put the Knights ahead by just enough.
Brendan MacNeil '23 scored an empty net goal with one second remaining in the game.
On the other side of the ice, Owen Watson stopped 27 shots on 29 attempts.
Both teams will now look towards the postseason, where they are both expected to get top seeds and home court/ice.
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Catholic Memorial
Catholic Memorial
235 Baker StreetWest Roxbury, MA 02132P. (617) 469-8000F. (617) 977-5689
About Us
Catholic Memorial, the Christian Brothers School of Boston, prepares boys for college, manhood and a world full of unknown challenges, ambiguity and complex problems and the importance of relationships.
