LOWELL, Mass. — Aaron Cote lost it all a year ago. After being part of Wareham’s back-to-back state championships in 2023 and 2024, last year was supposed to be his time to take the torch and lead the Vikings to glory again. But an injury derailed his journey.
Cote tore ligaments in his ankle, forcing him to have surgery. He missed all but three games, and he watched from the sidelines as Wareham went 12-12 and quietly exited the state tournament.
His time, ultimately, was just delayed a year. On Saturday, he wrote a storybook ending to his Wareham career.
Cote scored a game-high 31 points, including 20 in the second half, as the Vikings erased a double-digit halftime deficit. They captured their third Division 4 boys championship in four years with a 70-63 victory over defending champion Georgetown. Standing on the court at the Tsongas Center amidst jubilation, it was a moment that was almost difficult for Cote to process.
“It’s an unreal feeling that I’m even at this point,” Cote said. “I just want to cry right now because I didn’t think I would do this. People probably didn’t think we could do this. People doubted us. But we fought through the adversity. …
“I had a fire fueled in me. I didn’t play last year. It fueled a fire in me. People thought we were never going to be back in a Final Four or Elite Eight game ever again.”
Top-seeded Wareham (21-5) needed to fight for this one. After mostly steamrolling opponents through the first four rounds of the state tournament, the Vikings found themselves down double digits in the first half and by nine at halftime.
That’s when the fire burned for Cote.
The senior star and Wareham’s all-time leading scorer led the charge coming out of the locker room. He scored 11 points in the period, including a sequence where he drilled a step-back 3-pointer before taking a rebound coast to coast for the lead. After the ball stuck too much in the first half for Wareham, with too many guys playing isolation basketball in an effort to get them back in the game, the ball flowed more.
Cote was at the center of it all, finding his own shot and rhythm while creating easier looks for his teammates.
“It was my last game, it was my last chance,” Cote said. “This is all I had to put it out there and leave it all on the court and never regret it.”
Wareham coach Steve Faniel saw how much it hurt for Cote to miss almost all of last season. He was grateful to see him shine on the biggest stage.
“Aaron’s come a long way,” Faniel said. “It killed him last year to be out. It was his time to lead, he played a role for those two state championship teams before. It was his turn to lead and he got it taken away from him. But I also think it makes it more gratifying for him now because he understands that basketball can be taken away at any point in time. He didn’t waste any days this year.”
Jomar Terrero led Georgetown with 18 points, while star Brendan Loewen – the hero of last season’s title – added 16 points while battling foul trouble. Wareham limited Royals co-star Irvin Zapata, who scored 24 points in last year’s championship game, to just six points on Saturday.
Outside of Cote, Mallikhi Tavares scored 20 points and Amare Rose added 16 to fuel Wareham.
After last season’s early exit without Cote, Wareham had something to prove this year.
“We put a lot into this game because last year, they won it,” Faniel said. “We felt like if Aaron was healthy, they didn’t beat us. So this game was pretty gratifying to know, this is the one.”
Faniel said there were no outside expectations in this year’s group, which made this title feel different.
“The other two (championships), they were anointed in the sixth grade coming up that they were going to be something special,” he said. “This group, I don’t think anybody expected much out of at all, except for us. In our room, we knew that we were pretty good. But last year we were 12-12, Aaron was out, it was a tough year for these kids. But they kept on working, they kept on getting better, so I think we surprised a lot of people this year. Like now, people will say Wareham is this powerhouse, No. 1, but in the beginning of the season, they weren’t saying that.
“So they went out and proved that it wasn’t just the last group. That group of 10 seniors was awesome, and that’s their time. And now it’s this group’s time.”
And it was especially Cote’s time.
“This is how I envisioned it,” Cote said. “I had colleges looking at me. I lost all of it because of the year I couldn’t play. I envisioned all this, playing on this court again, I just wanted to end it here. Three rings is just an unreal feeling.”
