The boys basketball team is looking to make some noise in the Cape Ann League and beyond. Last year’s team cruised through the regular season, 15-5, to earn the No. 22 seed in the Division 3 state tournament and a ferry boat ride to No. 11 Martha’s Vineyard for a first round contest, won by the Vineyarders, 63-47.
The Pioneers graduated just two seniors, captain Chris Daniels, a Cape Ann All-League honoree, and sixth man Paul Breslow. But with seven returning varsity players, the Pioneers’ depth and experience may be their ticket to a deep run in the tournament.
“Obviously, we lost in the tournament, but it was a cool experience for the kids to go out there to Martha’s Vineyard,” head coach John Bakopolus said. “Hopefully, we can continue that success and make a deeper run in this year’s tournament considering the experience this team has.”
The Pioneers will be led by senior captains Iain McCarthy, Alex Fleming and Zach Pincus. Fleming returns as a CAL All-League honoree. McCarthy also served as a captain of last year’s squad.
“All three are four-year varsity players and have basically played since they were freshmen. Hopefully, they can guide some of the guys who don’t have as much experience,” Bakopolus said.
The rest of the returners are led by junior Harrison Hadzihasanovic, who started last year as a sophomore and is a player Bakopolus said “will play a huge role for us again this year.” Other players Bakopolus is looking to for major contributions include junior Matt Tracy, “who played solid minutes for us last year,” sophomore Neal Grant, who Bakapolus said “will have a big role for us this year,” and senior Chris Fleming, Alex’s twin.
“Chris is a multiple-year varsity player who can shoot,” Bakopolus said. “He’s one of our shooters and really plays hard.”
Bakopolus said he is also looking to junior Luke DiSilvio to contribute. He sat out last year with an injury.
Promising newcomers include a couple of seniors who had all-star seasons this past fall – think of them as sleepers. Soccer goalkeeper Kelan Cardinal, who helped lead the Pioneers to the Division 3 state championship final, and football standout Madux Iovinelli, who set a school record for single-season receiving yards, have the potential to catch a lot of teams by surprise. Both players were honored as Daily Item Fall All-Stars at a reception Wednesday night at the Lynn Museum.
“Kelan is really talented and we are really happy to have him,” Bakopolus said. “He brings a lot to the table, is a really talented kid, and brings a lot of energy to the team. And Madux, much like Kelan, also brings a lot, including tremendous athleticism and a ton of energy. He is going to help us a lot at both the defensive end and the offensive end, so we are very excited to have him.”
Other newcomers include sophomores Justin Flores, Oliver Harth and James Pasquale, as well as junior Ryan Giocobbi. Bakopolus said Flores, in particular, is “playing well and will definitely play for us as well.”
The Pioneers’ schedule includes non-league games against Reading and Shawsheen Valley Tech. In addition, they also will play in the Spartan Classic at St. Mary’s (Lynn) over February vacation. They play Lowell Catholic in the opening round on Feb. 16 (11 a.m.) and then will play the winner/loser of Chelsea/Lincoln Sudbury the next day.
Bakopolus said Newburyport, Manchester-Essex and Georgetown are the teams to beat in the Cape Ann League.
“Those three teams for the last three, four or five years have controlled the league,” Bakopolus said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t had much success against them, but maybe this will be the year. … We have a solid crew and do have a lot of kids with a great deal of experience and I think that helps when you get into the season and as it goes along. That should be very helpful.”
Bryan Wladkowski and Tyler Grillo return as assistant coaches.
