‘Empathy and sportsmanship’ prevail over Everett boys basketball in first round state tournament game

After learning their assistant coach passed away, Methuen perseveres past the Crimson Tide

By Joe McConnell

Under coach Gerard Boyce’s direction, the Everett High School boys basketball team advanced to the Division 1 state tournament once again after completing the regular season with a 12-10 record. The journey that starts every year the Monday after Thanksgiving with varsity returnees and hopefuls always has its share of ups and downs, but at the end of the day when teams clinch postseason berths, it makes it all worthwhile. They must have at least a .500 record to qualify for the state tournament, and this year’s Crimson Tide squad surpassed that cutoff by two full games.

A total of 42 schools made it past the regular season in this division, and the Everett boys were the 39^th seed. They opened up on the road against the Methuen Rangers (9-11), the 26^th seed, in a preliminary round game on Feb. 25, only to come up short, 63-41. But two days later, the Rangers fell to host Attleboro (20-2), the seventh seed, in the Round of 32, 90-58.

Boyce says that the final score didn’t reflect what actually took place on and off the court. “This game was never about the scoreboard,” the Everett coach said. “Our program would like to publicly acknowledge the incredible strength and resilience shown by the Methuen players, staff and community.”

The third-year Everett coach was referring to what took place in the early morning hours prior to the state tournament game, when Methuen assistant coach James Staples, 34, passed away after battling cancer.

“What the Methuen players did by playing the game was a profound act of courage,” Boyce said. “From our sideline, we had a few situations arise right before the game that affected us, as well. We were not ready to execute.”

Boyce went on to say that his graduating seniors will be missed, and it’s back to the drawing board for the rest of the team to get ready for next year, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.

But it all comes back to Methuen, and how it coped with its sudden loss of a beloved coach. “We at Everett High School were proud to share the same court with the Rangers on such a difficult night,” Boyce said. “Basketball is a competitive sport, but moments like this remind us that empathy and sportsmanship are the most important lessons that we can teach our student-athletes. Our deepest condolences go out to the Staples family and the entire Methuen High School community.”