[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING THE MATIGNON HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 18, 2003

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Matignon 
Warriors boys' basketball team. On Monday, March 10, 2003, the Warriors 
defeated the Southeastern Regional Hawks to win the MIAA Division 4 
state championship by a score of 78-55. Matignon High School, which is 
located in North Cambridge, is a cornerstone of the community, and I am 
proud to honor the members and coaches of the boys' championship 
basketball team.
  I want to take the time to recognize the individuals who make up the 
state champs, and extend my congratulations on an incredible season: 
Alex Aiello, Shelby Berleus, Greg Case, Ralph Fevrier, Jimmy Guerrier, 
Jeff Lerebour, John McMahon, Chris Neil, John Nicoloro, Chris 
O'Callaghan, Ricky Prosper, AJ Urquhart, Justin Veri, Frank Whitney, 
Head Coach Joel Burke, Assistant Coaches Ed O'Callaghan, Sean 
O'Callaghan, Terry Mathews and Mel Story.
  I am also including a copy of an article which appeared in the 
Cambridge Chronicle on March 12, 2003.

                 Warriors Win Div. 4 State Championship

                            (By Jamie Pote)

       The last time the Matignon boys basketball team played at 
     the FleetCenter, coach Joel Burke said the excitement of 
     taking the fabled parquet floor caused his team to lose 
     focus.
       Monday afternoon, the Warriors' focus was impeccable. 
     Matignon stormed out to a 27-point halftime lead and coasted 
     to a 78-55 victory over Southeastern Regional to capture the 
     Division 4 state title (there are no Div. 4 teams outside 
     Eastern Mass.).
       ``In 1997 we were just happy to be here,'' said Burke, 
     whose team lost to Avon that year. ``We were too busy taking 
     pictures and we seemed to have lost our focus. That was my 
     big concern heading into this game--we had to be ready.
       ``And for sure, we were ready for this game.''
       Led by seniors John McMahon (29 points) and Chris Neil (19 
     points), Matignon (21-4) outplayed the Hawks in nearly every 
     facet of the game, including a 20-9 edge in rebounds in the 
     first half.
       ``We thought if we held them to just one shot that we would 
     be able to keep the game close,'' Burke said. ``We had no 
     idea that this would happen. The court is so big and we just 
     moved the ball all over to the open spots and hit a lot of 
     easy baskets.''
       In Friday's sectional final, Matignon picked apart 
     Minuteman Tech's 2-2-1 zone defense and led by 39 points at 
     halftime. Southeastern played much of the same defense 
     yesterday and Matignon again picked it apart with baskets in 
     transition. The Warriors also relied on their outside 
     shooting by hitting eight 3-pointers in the game, with seven 
     of those treys coming before halftime.
       ``When we play on the bigger courts, it's just easier for 
     us to score on transition,'' Neil said. ``It means that we're 
     the team that's most in shape. We're a running team and no 
     one can catch us when they try those gimmick zone defenses, 
     the 2-2-1 or the 1-2-2. We just skip right over that and 
     score so many easy baskets.''
       Neil set the tone right away for Matignon when he buried a 
     3-pointer from the right elbow just 30 seconds into the game. 
     Southeastern stayed close over the next few minutes, trailing 
     10-9, and that's when Matignon blew the game wide open. The 
     Warriors went on a 16-0 run, including three baskets by 
     junior Jimmy Guerrier (12 points).
       ``We were just getting a lot of great looks,'' said Burke, 
     whose team led 47-20 at the half. ``And the ball was falling 
     in the basket. That's a good team over there and I think some 
     of their early shots that didn't go in just took them out of 
     their game.''
       Matignon opened the second half with an 11-4 run, sparked 
     by a 3-pointer and layup by Neil and a pair of baskets from 
     McMahon.

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