Mission accomplished: Milton Academy boys basketball finally nets Class A New England crown

MILTON – Monday was the first day of spring sports for New England prep schools. About 3:30 p.m. the hallway outside of Milton Academy athletic director Lamar Reddicks' corner office was clogged with a swarm of kids lugging lacrosse sticks and baseball/softball bats as they headed outside to preseason practices.

Reddicks jokingly referred to the scene as "mayhem."

While the rest of the school may have switched gears and flipped the sports calendar, you can excuse Reddicks if he wants to linger in winter just a little longer.

After all, it's not every day you win a New England championship.

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In fact, Reddicks' boys basketball team had never won one – until Sunday, that is. The Mustangs (24-2) completed the best season in Reddicks' 15-year tenure as coach by edging a star-studded St. Sebastian's team, 77-76, to claim the NEPSAC Class A title at Western New England University in Springfield.

"I would say that for me, winning was more of a relief than a joy," Reddicks said with a chuckle. "I haven't gotten to enjoy it yet. And I will. Everyone kept saying it was such a great game. I don't know if I felt that way because it was stressful. But it was great to be able to finish off the year like that."

It was Milton Academy's first appearance in a New England final since losing the 2017-18 Class A title game to Choate Rosemary Hall. The Mustangs fell in the semifinals last year to eventual champ Hotchkiss, continuing a theme – that was the fifth time in the last nine tournaments that Milton had bowed out to the team that won it all.

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"Trust me, I know," Reddicks said when reminded of the close calls. "All those years we were right there."

This time the Mustangs broke through as the No. 1 seed, battering No. 8 Phillips Exeter Academy, 76-55, in the quarters and No. 5 Avon Old Farms, 90-58, in the semis. The final was much, much closer, but 26 points from tournament MVP Jack Graham and a key late steal by junior forward Austin Hunt proved to be the difference against No. 2 St. Sebastian's.

"It's a great honor," Graham, a senior small forward from Greenville, Rhode Island, said of ending the title drought. "From Day 1 when we started (practicing), I can even say from the first day of last year, it was not only our dream but Coach Reddicks' dream to win a championship. It was really special to be part of the first one."

"It's a great feeling to bring a championship to your school," agreed Hunt, of Marlborough. "Being able to put up a banner is something that will last forever here. It's something that will be a special (bond) among all the guys who are on the team and Coach Reddicks and the community."

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This was actually Reddicks' second championship, if you count the 1996 crown he won as a power forward at Milton High.

"It's different, very different," Reddicks said. "The '96 state championship I had a lot to do with that as a player. This championship I have less to do with it as a coach. The players go out and win the games. I can help put them in the right spots, but the guys have to make shots, box out, go get a steal. I can't do that from the sideline. I feel like I had a lot more to do with the '96 championship team; this one here I was along for the ride with some pretty good players that I coach."

Of course, some of those good players were missing for long stretches of the season. Shooting guard Nick Petronio, a junior from Needham whom Reddicks calls an "ACC-type player," tore his ACL in January. And point guard Gavin Carter, a senior from Cohasset, suffered a concussion in January and a sprained ankle in February.

"We didn't see much of Gavin in January and February," Reddicks said. "It was hard. He came back for the last three games and was able to give us a lot."

Reddicks credited many players, including senior point guard Murphy McLaughlin (Milton), for stepping up in the stars' absence. The coach raved about his team's depth and versatility, pointing out that the 6-3 Graham, for instance, can guard any opposing player on the court. "Jack allows us to play small at times because he's OK with going down there (on the blocks) and mixing it up with big guys," Reddicks said. "But he can also cover the starting point guard. That versatility on the defensive ends makes us really tough."

Graham also took over the scoring load. Not only was he the top point-getter in the final, but he drained an eye-opening 11 3-pointers en route to a 42-point game against Avon Old Farms in the semis.

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"I woke up that day feeling good," Graham said. "My teammates were the reason I was able to get that many shots up. Without them I wouldn't have been in that situation."

Although Milton Academy had beaten St. Sebastian's, 86-80, on Feb. 22, the rematch was no easy task, given that the Arrows boast two big-time stars: Yale-bound senior guard Trevor Mullin of Wellesley, a two-time Independent School League MVP and owner of 2,026 career points; and 6-foot-7 forward A.J. Dybantsa, of Brockton, who is one of the highest-rated freshmen in the country.

"It's about as hard of a thing as you could ever imagine," Reddicks said of dealing with those two. "I'm still a little tired from not sleeping the night before worrying about how we were going to stop those two guys. They're both such offensive talents it's unbelievable.

"I don't think there's been another guy in the league (during my time as a coach) like A.J. He scores some buckets where there's nothing you can do (to stop him). I've never been able to say that before. And Trevor is a kid who's worked so hard; I remember when he was a small eighth-grader and he was a spot-up shooter in the corner and now he handles the basketball so well. He became a willing passer as he became older. And he can get you a bucket anytime you need one."

Nevertheless, the Mustangs came out on top.

"St. Seb's is a great team. A lot of people, for some reason, didn't think we were going to win, even though we beat them before," Hunt said. "But we all had 100 percent confidence that we were going to win every time. At the end of the day, those are just other guys on the other team. Who cares about where they're going to college or what their (recruiting) rank is? We try not to look at that stuff. We just go out there and play basketball. We know we can beat anyone on any given day."

Beating this particular opponent on this particular day gave Milton Academy an enduring memory.

"It's a program win," Reddicks said. "I sent a text message out to all my former players and all my former coaches and told them that this one is for them, too, that they should share in this. They all, in certain ways, have paved the road for this group. Whether we won this or not, I think we're still a good program and I think we've accomplished a lot of good things. But this lets people know where we are – we're the best team in Class A. And that's pretty awesome."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Milton Academy boys basketball finally nets elusive New England crown