Burlington halted Holyoke’s run in the MIAA Division 2 boys basketball state tournament with a hail of 3s.
The third-seeded Red Devils drained 22 triples and bested the No. 11 Purple Knights 88-62 on Friday in the quarterfinal round in Burlington. They’ll face No. 7 Norwood in the state semifinals after it took down No. 2 Mansfield in OT.
“That’s their game plan, they live by the 3, they die by the 3,” Holyoke coach Juan Maldonado said of Burlington. “They made some shots over us, from the beginning they kept making tough shots.”
Senior point guard Jael Cabrera led Holyoke with 14 points. Junior Roel Figueroa added 13, and Jaimiel Rivera chipped in 10.
It was the final game for seven Holyoke seniors: Adrix Madera, Cabrera, Nicholas Consedine, Rivera, Patrick Gubala, Moises Silva and Lordi Smith.
“It’s been the most talented group I’ve coached. They epitomize what Holyoke basketball is,” Maldonado said. “It was a special year. You hate for it to end like this.”