Justin Perron made sure his team understood the standard for the St. Mark’s boys’ basketball program.
Every practice this season ended the same way. The Lions gathered beneath the banners draped on the walls of Elkins Gymnasium, rather than in the middle of the court, looking up at the program’s rich history and the standard this group was striving to meet.
The banners showed this: six NEPSAC championships and six Independent School League championships.
“The standard of the program is right there on the wall,” said Perron. “We looked at it every day since the start of the summer, since June.”
A seventh St. Mark’s championship team would soon earn its place on the wall. On March 8, the Lions capped a rapid ascension back to prep basketball prominence, securing the NEPSAC Class B Large title with a come-from-behind 70-58 win over Canterbury at Worcester Academy.
The victory gave St. Mark’s its first NEPSAC title since 2012 and finished a 22-6 season in a winter full of firsts. In only Perron’s third year in charge, the Lions earned their highest playoff seed since 2012, hosted their first playoff game since 2015 and notched wins over Rivers and Brooks for the first time in over a decade.
The standard was met.
“We knew if we really stayed together, we could be this team,” said Perron. “Since June, we wanted to meet this, win this, because we were in front of the standard every day in practice.”
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St. Mark’s finished 16-1 against in-class competition, but reaching the mountaintop required trust and execution in the most critical moments. The Lions trailed Canterbury, 37-30, early in the second half of the championship game when Perron called a timeout to regroup. Only one person spoke inside the huddle: senior point guard Alex Echevarria, Perron’s first recruit when he took over in 2023.
Echevarria provided calmness and confidence amidst the chaos.
“We’ve been there before, so there was no panic,” said Echevarria, who is committed to Division 3 power Trinity. “We had plenty of time, and we just had to do our thing.”
St. Mark’s did its thing. In the blink of an eye, the Lions flipped a seven-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The 6-foot Echevarria was at the center of the comeback. He canned a straightaway 3-pointer, drove hard into the paint to complete a three-point play off glass and dished out several assists to the team’s sharpshooters on the perimeter.
Once St. Mark’s had completed the comeback and was crowned Class B Large champions, the trophy presentation began. Echevarria was the first person to put his hands on the trophy, walking over to the podium to lift it high into the air as the St. Mark’s fans packed into the bleachers stood and cheered.
“It’s immeasurable what Alex brings to the team,” said a choked-up Perron. “He’s a leader on and off the floor. He was my first recruit for a reason because he’s selfless and works hard. That bled into our success.”
Echevarria was the heart and soul of the 2025-26 Lions. But he was not alone. Junior forward Donovan Clement endured a breakout winter, becoming a matchup nightmare behind his ability to space the floor. The 6-foot-8 Clement scored a game-high 27 points, highlighted by a game-sealing alley-oop dunk, and made six 3-pointers in the title game to earn MVP honors.
Fellow junior Luca Palermo was a force down low, excelling as a point forward with great vision and rebounding skills. Shifty guard CJ Farrell joined Echevarria in the backcourt, forming a quick tandem of guards who could slice into the paint and get others involved with deft passing.
Senior Connor Nairus rounded out the starting five, providing leadership, toughness and rebounding.
Perron leaned on his core a lot — they only played six guys in the championship — but they always came through.
“We were a connected group,” said Echevarria. “Everyone treated each other well. Everyone loved each other. It’s great to accomplish this, but what I’ll really remember is what our connection was like.”
When Perron first took over, after stops at Northfield Mount Hermon and Clark University, capturing a NEPSAC title seemed far away. But Perron pitched a message to prospective recruits about the team culture, school support and identity St. Mark’s was building. Players like Palermo, a former standout at Andover High, and Farrell bought in, joining the team ahead of last season.
The Lions started tasting some success. St. Mark’s won 16 games, the most in a decade, and reached the playoffs before falling to Canterbury in the first round. This offseason, Perron landed Clement, a 1,000-point scorer at Moses Brown (R.I.), to round out the roster.
Suddenly, St. Mark’s had the depth and high-end talent to compete in the ISL and beyond.
“We started huddling under the championship banners after our first practice during the live period in June,” said Perron.
Nine months later, St. Mark’s huddled up again for the last time on the floor at Worcester Academy. They no longer have to look at all the previous Lion teams on the banner. They will be on it — forever — giving the next generation a standard to chase.
“We put a lot of work in individually and collectively,” said Echevarria. “In the fall, in the spring. We were in the gym in the morning and at night. It was all about work. It’s a great feeling.”
