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BOSTON — Set the defense and suffocate the opposition in the halfcourt. Pentucket Regional rode that gritty personality on a sensational spin to the Division 3 North title. The will to smother was again present here last night in the Eastern Mass. title game at TD Garden. The opposition simply wasn’t cooperating. In the end, Old Rochester Regional was simply too fast, running past Pentucket, 63-49, to end the Sachems’ season two wins shy of a state championship. “We’re an athletic team, and we’re going to get out in the open floor and try to get the ball to our point guard,” said Old Rochester coach Steve Carvalho. “Athleticism, speed and some mental toughness got us home.” Simply put, just when Pentucket was ready to pounce, the ball was up and gone. Freshman flash Noah Fernandes of Old Rochester feasted on the open floor, blazing up and down and setting a frenzied tone. “They’re athletic, long, quick and got their hands on the ball, just players making plays,” said Sachems coach Ed Hickey. “In our playoff run, we shot the ball unbelievably, especially when we needed them. Tonight, it’s just wasn’t our night.” The defeat covered up a Herculean effort out of Pentucket sophomore Patrick Freiermuth. The 6-foot-3 bruiser was all over the stat sheet, leading the Sachems with 18 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks and three assists. About the only thing Freiermuth struggled with, like all his teammates (17 for 54 from the field) was his shooting. He was just 6 of 20. The pace of the game clearly favored the South champs and it forced a slew of early, uncharacteristic, unforced errors out of Pentucket. Down 12-2 after one quarter and 22-17 at the half, Pentucket hung around because of its defense. Even into the fourth, they clawed and battled, slicing the margin down to six at 42-36 with six minutes to play. Momentum was on their side, and the Sachems’ huge student section looked ready to erupt when Freiermuth leaped skyward on a steal attempt. But as he was soaring out of bounds near halfcourt, his desperation heave back into play found the wrong hands. A quick OR pass and bang, Ryan Beatty buried a three. It could have been a four-point margin, instead it was nine, a hole that was simply too deep. “They were fast, we didn’t get used to it as quick as we would have liked to,” said Freiermuth. “That hurt us. Our defense has kept us in a lot of games. We always thought we would get back in it.” Added Hickey: “I thought we were going to make an exciting finish. We’ve had a lot of crazy comeback wins this year. I was hoping this could be one of them. Unfortunately, (Freiermuth) was trying to make a great effort. He just threw it to the wrong guy. We got caught out of position and they made a huge shot. “It could have been four-point game, a two-possession game with a lot of time on the clock, and we were finally developing some confidence.” Pentucket finishes out greatest boys hoop season in history at 17-6. Seniors Pat Beaton (7 points) and Brendan Sullivan (8 points) ended their careers on the Garden parquet by combining for 15 points.

LOWELL – The team nobody was talking about just two weeks ago is now two wins from a state championship. Finishing the shocking trip through the Division 3 North sectional in style, Pentucket ousted No. 3 Arlington Catholic, 70-52, to claim the championship here Saturday afternoon on “Beach Day” at the Tsongas Center. Seeded 5th and now 17-5, Pentucket moves to the Eastern Mass. championship game Tuesday afternoon (4 p.m.) at the TD Garden against the winner of last night’s Old Rochester-Norton South championship game. “This is fantastic, no words to describe it. It’s just great to prove all our doubters wrong,” said sophomore Pat Freiermuth, who led the way with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. “The seniors have really stepped up. They knew we could get this far and they pushed us. Our defense has been fantastic. It’s made a huge difference. If we didn’t play defense like this in our tourney opener, we wouldn’t be here now. It’s a team thing.” Defense and execution. Sound familiar? It’s a formula the Sachems have masterfully employed repeatedly, taking 15 of the last 16 – a streak that stretches back into the first week of January. Nothing came easily for Arlington Catholic, Pentucket’s fourth straight playoff victim to be held under 60 points. “They made some shots, a few three-pointers, but a lot of them came off of deflections, or loose rebounds or some kind of crazy play,” said Pentucket coach Ed Hickey. “For the most part, our defense was great. “We turned the corner because (of our defense). One of the things I noticed early in the season as we lost a couple games (they had just a 2-4 start). I was focused on the offensive end, and we were giving up way too many points. We put a little more emphasis on the defensive end there, and the kids have responded incredibly.” Pentucket clamped down hardest in the second and third quarters – a stretch in which the Sachems outscored AC, 26-18, to carry a 42-33 advantage into the fourth. From there, Pentucket just pounded the basketball to the big fella, Freiermuth, who drove the winners’ bus home. The 6-foot-3 swingman netted a dozen points in the fourth, keeping AC at arm’s length the whole way. “He’s a kid that can create mismatches, whether inside or outside,” said Hickey. “We have guys capable of making plays. Today several guys did.” Patrick Beaton added 18 points and Jeff Porter 13 while Will Sullivan scored 10 points and held AC big man Matt Wesoloski to only seven. Pentucket’s win continues a run of strong tourney performances from the Cape Ann League, which had Hamilton-Wenham stroll to the Division 4 North title on Friday night. H-W is the only team to beat the Sachems since the early season. “To be called North champion is pretty amazing,” said Patrick Beaton. “Nobody believed we’d be here, being on top is just amazing. Having nobody believing in us just makes it even better.”   Pentucket 70, Arlington Catholic 52 AC (52): Michael Maher 6 0-1 14, Louis Doherty 3 3-6 9, Peter Kelly 1 1-2 3, Nicholas Carvello 1 0-0 3, Edwin Woods 6 0-0 16, Matt Wesoloski 3 1-3 7, Totals 20 5-12 52 Pentucket (70): Patrick Beaton 7 2-2 18, Ryan Beaton 1 0-0 3, Brendan Sullivan 1 0-0 3, Jeff Porter 4 4-4 13, Will Sullivan 5 0-0 10, Pat Freiermuth 6 7-11 23, Totals 24 13-17 70 3-pointers: AC — Maher 2, Carvello, Woods 4; P — P. Beaton 2, R. Beaton, B. Sullivan, Porter, Freiermuth 4 Pentucket (17-5):     16 9 17 28 — 70 Arlington Catholic (17-6):     15 8 10 19 — 52

Pat Freiermuth scored 20 points, Pat Beaton 16 and Will Sullivan 14 as Pentucket beat CAL rival Lynnfield 58-47 in the Division 3 North quarterfinals. Sullivan also pulled down 12 rebounds and Freiermuth hauled in 10. The Sachems, who lost to Lynnfield by 2 in the regular season, won the game at the line. They were 25 of 39 to 13 of 20 for the Pioneers.

Pat Freiermuth scored a career-high 32 points to help Pentucket bast North Reading 67-55.

Pat Freiermuth (16 points), Ryan Beaton (11 points) and Will Sullivan (10) points all reached double figures as Pentucket boys basketball won 59-33 over Rockport.

After a silent first half, Pat Beaton simply wasn't to let his team lose. The senior watched Pentucket fall behind 24-12 at the break then awoke and ignited a wild comeback. Beaton's fifth three-pointer of the second half soared through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, giving the Sachems a wild, 40-38, win over Triton. "We were down all night, that hoop literally gave us our only lead of the night," said Pentucket coach Ed Hickey. "What a big shot!" 

After a silent first half, Pat Beaton simply wasn't to let his team lose. The senior watched Pentucket fall behind 24-12 at the break then awoke and ignited a wild comeback. Beaton's fifth three-pointer of the second half soared through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, giving the Sachems a wild, 40-38, win over Triton. "We were down all night, that hoop literally gave us our only lead of the night," said Pentucket coach Ed Hickey. "What a big shot!" 

Pat Beaton scored four of six points late and he hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to lift Pentucket 49-46 over Newburyport.

Beaton and Pat Freiermuth (team-high 15 points) both had key steals during the fourth quarter to lead the Sachems to a comeback win after they trailed 35-29 entering the fourth quarter.

Strong rebounding may have been the difference for Pentucket in a big 60-54 double overtime victory over Masconomet. Leading scorer Pat Freiermuth had 13 rebounds to go along with 19 points for the Sachems (9-4) and Will Sullivan had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Pat Freiermuth scored 25 points and Pentucket rallied past upset-minded Georgetown 61-58. Ryan Slack had 23 for the Royals.