Hopedale Boys Basketball escaped a potential upset on Tuesday, eking out a razor-thin 57-56 win over the #11 Westport Wildcats. This victory propels the Blue Raiders into their first championship game since 2000, where they’ll face off against the #1 team in the division.
Named co-state champions in 2020 but unable to compete due to the pandemic, Hopedale is eager to make up for lost opportunities. Throughout the season, the Raiders have been led by star guard Patrick Madden. In the semi-finals, Madden scored a team-high 15 points, delivering the go-ahead basket with just 3 seconds remaining.
In the upcoming finals, Hopedale will confront the Pioneer Valley Regional Panthers—a team that has been a dominant force in the playoffs, averaging a 39.5-point margin of victory. While the Panthers remain undefeated and are firing on all cylinders, Hopedale’s journey has been a tale of both blowouts and nail-biters, with the last two rounds decided by a combined margin of just 5 points.
As Hopedale looks to cap a dramatic season with a championship banner, all eyes will be on Saturday at 12 PM at the Tsongas Center, where tickets are $24 a pop.
