Patriot League Champs

High school basketball fans on the South Shore know how explosive the Whitman-Hanson boys basketball can be on the offensive end of the court. This morning, the North Quincy High School team knows how tough the Panthers can be down the other end too after Whitman-Hanson shut down the Red Raiders, 54-35 to claim a share of the Patriot League championship with Scituate. Senior captain Josh Burnett and fellow senior Josh Hansen stymied the very talented John Coates holding him to just 5 points while senior captains Jason Vancura and John Hardiman combined to shutdown the league's best post player, Mike Stanton. The Panther defense held North Quincy to just 20 first half points and then turned up the pressure in the 3rd holding them to just 2 points. The offense was steady led by senior Tim Farrell who tossed in 16 points. Senior TJ Champignie had 7 steals and 9 points to help power the attacked. Champignie took advantage of the defensive attention applied by North Quincy to also pick up a season high 10 assists. Eric Johnson had 9 points and Burnett added 8 for the Panthers who improve to 18 and 2, the best mark in Division 2 South. The win also wrapped up the most successful regular season in Whitman-Hanson boys basketball history. The team now awaits the MIAA pairings which will be announced later this morning. The Panthers are expected to play the winner of a prelim game between Pembroke and Quincy.