Pelham’s Zach James headlines The Sun’s boys basketball all-star team

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It’s been quite the school year for the Pelham High Pythons. First the football team won its third straight state title and now the boys basketball team captured the Division 2 state title.

The team’s backcourt of Zach James and Dom Herrling highlight The Sun’s all-star boys basketball team, while first-year Pelham coach Joe Morin is the Coach of the Year.

The only other team to have two all-stars is Lowell Catholic with Dimitri Sime and Alijah Iraola. Chelmsford, Greater Lowell, Groton-Dunstable, Lowell, North Middlesex, Shawsheen Tech, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford Academy have one each.

Player of the Year

Zach James, Pelham

A junior guard, James was a key figure in the Pythons winning the New Hampshire Division 2 state championship and netting a 19-6 record.

Pelham High’s Zach James, who averaged 18.6 points per game, is The Sun’s boys basketball Player of the Year. (Courtesy photo)

James averaged 18.6 points per game and drained 108 three-pointers. He elevated his game when it mattered most, averaging 28 points in the state tournament. James was named to the IAABCO 95 Tournament All-Star team and was a second team selection to the NHBCO All-State team.

An honor roll student, he’s also a member of the PHS varsity baseball team.

Ryan Blagg, Chelmsford

An outstanding wide receiver on the football field, Blagg was also immense on the court, leading the way for the Lions, who qualified for the state tournament before losing to St. John’s of Shrewsbury.

An MVC all-conference selection, Blagg averaged 9.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. In some of the team’s bigger wins, he elevated his game, including double-double performances against Haverhill and Lowell. A senior captain and team MVP, he also plays lacrosse at CHS.

Terrell Offutt, Gr. Lowell

After a solid regular season in which he averaged about 10 points per game, Offutt emerged in the playoffs, averaging 25 points in two games to help the Gryphons finish with a 15-8 overall record, including a 9-3 league mark which earned the team the CAC championship.

Offutt was named to the CAC all-league team and was also awarded the team’s Most Improved Player. He plans on attending UMass Lowell to study criminal justice.

Andrew Stenstream, Groton-Dunstable

A senior who was named a Mid-Wach B League all-star, Stenstream helped Groton-Dunstable finish 8-11 in the regular season before pulling off a preliminary round double-overtime win over East Bridgewater. The Crusaders were then ousted by Old Rochester.

He led the Crusaders in scoring and rebounding with 15 points per game and 9.2 boards per outing.

Javien Kirmil, Lowell

A senior captain and three-year varsity player, Kirmil helped the Red Raiders finish with an 11-11 overall record, including a preliminary round win over Malden, before losing to BC High in a game that saw him finish with 25 points.

Named Lowell’s Most Valuable Player and to the MVC all-conference team, Kirmil, a guard, finished the season by averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 37 percent from three-point land.

Dimitri Sime, Lowell Catholic

A junior, Sime was named the CAC Large School’s MVP and earlier in the regular season he led the Crusaders to the Spartan Classic championship title and again he was named the tournament MVP.

He helped LC finish 14-9 and advance to the Sweet 16 of the Division 3 state tournament. A two-year starter, he emerged to score 14.3 points per game, while adding 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Lowell Catholic star Dmitri Sime soars for a basket in the Crusaders' 74-42 blowout win over Belchertown during state tournament play. (Scott Lynde courtesy photo)
Lowell Catholic star Dmitri Sime soars for a basket in the Crusaders’ 74-42 blowout win over Belchertown during state tournament play. (Scott Lynde courtesy photo)

Sime had 28 points against Shawsheen Tech and 27 against Whittier Tech, and finished six games with 20 points or more.

Alijah Iraola, Lowell Catholic

Coming off his Sun All-Star appearance in football, Iraola continued his prominence on the basketball court, where he was named a CAC all-league selection.

He helped LC reach the Sweet 16 of the Division 3 state tournament, while earlier in the season he sparked the team to a nine-game winning streak.

He finished the season with 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He finished with 22 points against Whittier Tech, including hitting a game-tying three-pointer to send the game to OT, and
poured in 17 points in a first-round tournament win over Boston English.

Brian Morse, North Middlesex

A junior point guard and tri-captain, Morse was named the team’s Player of the Year and was also selected to the Mid-Wach B all-league team.

He finished the season averaging 15 points per game, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals. He connected on 41 3-pointers, which ranked seventh in all the Mid-Wach divisions and he ranked 11th in Mid-Wach in scoring.

He had a career-high 30-point performance against Shepherd Hill and through two varsity seasons, he has 467 points, averaging just shy of 13 points per game. Morse is also a member of the Mass. Elite AAU 11th grade touring national team.

Don Herrling, Pelham

Another junior guard who formed a dynamic backcourt for the Pythons, Herrling helped the team capture the state championship, his fourth at the high school to go along with his three straight in football.

Herrling was consistent all season in averaging 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.5 assists per game. In the playoffs, he averaged 16.6 points per game. A three-year varsity player and two-year starter, Herrling was named to the NHBCO All-State second team. In addition, he was previously
named to the All-State football team.

He is a National Honor Society member, a FBLA member and community service volunteer.

Mavrick Bourdeau, Shawsheen Tech

A talented athlete who is going to Saint Anselm to play baseball, Bourdeau missed eight games this season due to an ankle injury, which prevented him from reaching 1,000 points in his career, but he still averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. He was named a CAC all-star, which comes a year after being named the league’s MVP.

A four-year varsity player in basketball, Bourdeau is also a two-time CAC Player of the Year in baseball, a two-time league all-star in football, and this past fall he helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl, where he tied the state record for total receptions with 17.

Ryan Cuvier, Tewksbury

Regarded as one of the state’s best high jumpers during the outdoor track season, Cuvier improved his game in basketball by leaps and bounds, which led him to being named the MVC Division 2 Player of the Year.

Tewksbury's Ryan Cuvier (1) averaged 15 points per game, earning him a spot on The Sun's boys basketball all-star squad. (Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun)
Tewksbury’s Ryan Cuvier (1) averaged 15 points per game, earning him a spot on The Sun’s boys basketball all-star squad. (Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun)

A senior forward, he finished the season averaging 15 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and helped the Redmen, who started the season 1-8, finish 11-11, which included the program’s first state
tournament win in eight years.

Bryce Goulet, Tyngsboro

For the third season in a row, Goulet, a junior guard, led the Tigers in scoring. This season he finished with 314 points, which was the most in the league, and currently has 732. He is on pace to reach 1,000 points despite playing in just 10 games as a freshman.

Tyngsboro's Bryce Goulet prepares to score a basket against Lunenburg's Vinny Dellasanta. (Kerry Sheehan photo)
Tyngsboro’s Bryce Goulet prepares to score a basket against Lunenburg’s Vinny Dellasanta. (Kerry Sheehan photo)

Besides scoring, he also led the team in steals and assists. Goulet has been named a league all-star and team MVP for two consecutive years. He helped Tyngsboro finish 14-8 this season and advance to the Sweet 16.

Besides basketball, Goulet has been the football team’s starting quarterback in each of the past two seasons.

Yuvi Gahlaut, Westford Academy

Named to the DCL all-star team, the senior point guard had a terrific season for the Ghosts averaging 12.3 points, 2.4 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game.

During the season, he was named to the Greater Lowell/IABBO Board 95 Holiday all-tournament team and the Mansfield Roundball all-tournament team.

Outside of athletics, Gahlaut is an AP scholar, a high honor roll student all four years of high school and also earned the DECA District Award.

Coach of the Year

Joe Morin, Pelham

After serving as the JV coach last year, Morin was bumped up to the varsity level and guided the Pythons to an 19-6 overall record, which included winning the NHIAA Division 2 state championship title with a 57-54 victory over Pembroke Academy.

Before his stint with the JV team, he coached the Pelham Middle School program from 2004-17. Morin graduated from Somerville High in 1981, and went on to Marquette University and then Cal-Penn for his master’s degree. He’s a retired locomotive engineer.

Second team

Alvirne: Sam DeWitt, so., guard; Garrett Hall, fr., forward. Billerica: Connor Gibson, sr., guard. Chelmsford: Tyler Allen, jr., guard; Michael Mwaniki, jr., guard. Dracut: Sean Bosia, jr., guard/forward. Gr. Lowell: Marty Drejaj, so., forward; Michael Marchionda, sr., guard. Groton-Dunstable: Zach Romich, so., guard. Littleton: Justin Manno, sr., guard; Max Smith, sr., forward. Lowell: Juan Beltrez Diaz, jr., guard; Lowell Catholic: Sean McNamara, sr., guard/forward. Nashoba Tech: Connor McCall, jr., guard; Adam Feiring, jr., forward. North Middlesex: Cade Callahan, jr., forward; Jack Callahan, jr., guard. Pelham: Jake Cawthron, sr., forward; Jake Travis, sr., forward. Shawsheen Tech: Franck Moron, so., guard; Aiden Macleod, sr., center. Tewksbury: Jonathon Sullivan, fr., guard. Tyngsboro: Jimmy O’Keefe, sr., forward; Trevor Drew, sr., guard; Anthony Nicosia, jr., for/center. Westford Academy: Vishal Rampur, so., forward.

Honorable mention

Alvirne: Cameron Kruger, sr., guard. Chelmsford: Magezi Nkugwa, fr., guard. Dracut: Jamaal Njikam, jr., forward; Nigel Tendo, jr., forward. Gr. Lowell: Kevin O’Brien, sr., guard; Zion Rodriguez, sr., guard. Groton-Dunstable: Pietro Vendramel, sr., guard. Lowell: Jason Kamau, so., guard. Lowell Catholic: Brady Lynde, so., guard/forward; Collin Charbonneau, fr., guard. Nashoba Tech: Ian McDermott, sr., forward. North Middlesex: Mike Reardon, jr., guard. Shawsheen Tech: Matt Breen, so., forward.
Tewksbury: Luke Montejo, jr., forward. Tyngsboro: Gavin Familia, jr., forward; Ryan Wall, jr., forward.  Westford Academy: Jack Sullivan, sr., guard. Wilmington: Ben Marvin, jr., guard; Noah Spencer, jr.,
forward; Tiago Gomez, jr., guard.

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