Sachems basketball flips the script, finish 11-10 after midseason surge

By Dom Nicastro

Three wins. That’s where it started.

At 3-7 midway through the season, the Saugus High School boys basketball team had a choice: fold or fight.

They fought. And went 8-2 over the final 10, including two, four-game winning streaks.

The Sachems flipped their season and punched a ticket to the Division 3 North tournament before bowing out to Lowell Catholic, 65-53, in the preliminary round. They finish 11-10 overall — a winning season forged not in comfort, but in urgency. Ryan Dupuy (17 points) and Huey Josama (16) led the team in the postseason game. Cam Conroy chipped in with seven, and senior captain Ryan Shea scored six.

“We started the season 3-7 and we knew we needed to come together,” senior captain Jordan Rodriguez said. “We needed to go 7-3 in the back end of the season. At this point of the season we had nothing to lose so we might as well go out there and give it our all, and that’s what we did.”

  The turning point wasn’t tactical. It was internal.

“In any game we played in the second half, we knew as a whole we had to push ourselves to the be the best we can to bring it home with us,” senior captain Josama said.

That mindset carried over game after game. The captains elevated their intensity. Role players leaned into responsibilities. The margin for error disappeared — and so did hesitation.

Rodriguez described it as something more than strategy.

“In the second half we really came together as a team and a family,” he said. “The captains stepped up and so did the rest of the team.”

Senior captain Nathan Soroko echoed that same theme.

“We came together like a family and with a goal of making the tournament our senior year,” Soroko said. “We decided to leave it all on the court and not go out without a fight. As we wanted to finish our basketball careers off the right way.”

  This wasn’t a one-star show. What defined this group was acceptance of role.

Rodriguez embraced his job description.

“I contributed by playing my role,” he said. “I was there to be the spot-up shooter and to knock down all my shots. I was also tasked for a couple of games to face-guard one of the two best players on a team.”

Soroko carved his impact in the margins.

“I felt I individually contributed to the team’s success by leading through hustle and bringing the team energy any way I could,” he said. “Diving on loose balls, going for every rebound and making it difficult defensively for whoever I was guarding.”

Josama, a four-year varsity player and senior captain, understood the standard.

“I’ve been playing varsity ball since freshman year. I know what it takes to make a run and to play as a senior captain. I personally had to step up every game and go 110%,” he said.

  One thread runs through every senior reflection: trust in the coaching staff.

Head coach Joe Bertrand and his staff have been with this group since middle school. That continuity showed when adversity hit.

“They always brought energy no matter what time of day, practice or game,” Rodriguez said. “They also played a big part in my basketball career as they have been coaching me since 7th grade. I think this is why out of all sports most of the basketball kids stayed in Saugus and didn’t transfer.”

Josama made a point to single out longtime Coach Jack Furey.

“They have been with me since middle school. They have been a great coaching staff, and I would personally want to thank Coach Furey for helping me putting in the work all four years,” he said.

Soroko added: “The coaches were great all year and have been a big part of our basketball careers as they have been with us since 7th grade. Have helped us grow as a team and as men. We fed off their energy and trusted them to get us prepared.”

In a year where the team could have splintered, structure held.

  The seniors aren’t leaving quietly. They’re leaving a challenge.

“They gotta want it more than us the following year coming up and put in that work,” Josama said of the next group of players.

Rodriguez was even more direct.

“For the next group of leaders, it will take getting on people early to show up to workouts every day and all the off-season games,” he said. “They will have to trust the process, put in the hours and give 110% every practice and game.”