By Kevin McCaskill Jr.
3/21/22 * 10:05 AM
(LOWELL, MA) - The 2022 MIAA State Tournament ended on Sunday with 4 Championship Games. The first game of the day was #6 Maynard HS vs. #4 Paulo Freire SJCS.
Maynard pounced on Paulo Freire early. Maynard’s Adam Fowler hit two 3s to help give Maynard a 10-2 lead over Paulo Freire.
Paulo Freire got off to a slow start offensively. It was similar to their start against Taconic. They made some unforced turnovers. Their shots were off the mark.
Bryan Jimenez made a 3 and Emmanuel Cruz made a dunk to pull Paulo Freire closer 13–7.
Maynard Senior Kyle Monahan came alive in the second quarter. He drove to the basket all afternoon. Paulo Freire’s defense couldn’t stop Fowler or Monahan from getting in the paint and scoring or passing to their teammates to score.
Maynard was ahead at halftime 35-20.
Paulo Freire couldn’t close in on Maynard in the second half. The 2-3 zone Maynard played gave Paulo Freire trouble all game. Their zone is similar to Syracuse, where the wings play really high.
In the 4th quarter, Monahan grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor to score at the other end. That basket put Maynard ahead 54-34.
Paulo Freire made a late run but it wasn’t enough. Maynard won 64-53.
Maynard HS is the Division 5 Champion.
Monahan scored a game-high 22 points. Fowler scored 14 points.
Cruz and Jimenez scored 14 points each.