LOWELL, Mass. — Tears streamed down Caden Sullivan’s face when the final buzzer sounded, and continued as he embraced his teammates while they waited to receive the trophy. Moments later, as he stood in the locker room holding the trophy, the tears were evident from the red around his eyes.
For Franklin, this meant even more.
Powered by Sullivan’s 31-point performance, the Panthers won their first state championship in program history in an instant classic, 55-52 victory over Newton North. But that only began to tell the story of the emotion. This was about community and winning for something bigger than themselves.
Two years ago, they tragically lost two classmates, Nick Gaspar and Anthony Gates, less than a month apart. Two days before Sunday’s final, Franklin head coach CJ Neely got an email from someone who said his team was helping him get through his wife’s passing. At Saturday’s practice, Neely had a friend, Greg Walsh, talk to the team about how big of a fan his dad was and what they meant to him.
“This senior group, we’ve been playing together, we’ve been through ups and downs,” Sullivan said. “It’s just one way to do it for them. I'm just at a loss for words.”
“It’s bigger than basketball,” added Neely. “We always say that being a part of something bigger than yourself is the key to all high school sports, and I’m really proud that we were able to establish that this year.”
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After falling short in three state finals since 2017, this wasn’t supposed to be the Franklin team to break through.
The Panthers led by double digits in the second half of last season’s championship game before Worcester North’s comeback, and there was a feeling they had missed their golden opportunity. They lost three league All-Stars from that team, and even though they returned Sullivan, a state title seemed unlikely. Even Neely and Sullivan admitted they were skeptical.
But the Panthers had guys – like Jake Olmstead, Wyatt Herndon and others – waiting their turn and ready to make their mark. Sullivan said he was a doubter, but a season-opening victory over Oliver Ames – which ultimately made the Division 2 Final Four – made him a believer. Franklin (25-1) mostly rolled through its schedule in its path to a title.
“I hate to be a downer on my own team, but I didn’t think we were going to win a state championship coming into the year,” Neely said. “I knew we were a good team. We joke around, no one wins a state championship, me and my coaching friends. … Even if you have your best team you’ve ever had, which maybe we had last year, you come in and run into a buzzsaw like Worcester North and it’s like man, you guys had a great year and have nothing to hang your head about.
“This year it was just grit and grind and toughness and defense.”
To clinch a state championship, the Panthers relied on that, and they trusted Sullivan, who set the tone all winter, to finish the job. He scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, including Franklin’s final nine, in an epic duel with Newton North star Teagan Swint (24 points), who powered the Tigers back – with big help from Nick Spinelli – from a second-half double-digit deficit.
Franklin led by nine with six minutes left in the fourth before Newton North’s 6-0 run created a tense finish. Sullivan and Swint traded blows for the final four minutes, with Sullivan getting downhill to score some tough buckets at the rim. It was 52-48 in the final minute when Swint stole the ball from Sullivan for a dunk. Sullivan proceeded to make just one of two free throws, and after Jake Lyons missed a game-tying 3-pointer for Newton North, Swint got the rebound and was fouled. He made two free throws with seven seconds left to make it a one-point game.
Sullivan calmly sank two free throws to make it 55-52 before Newton North’s last gasp. The Panthers opted not to foul up three. Neely said Franklin has never done it, so he didn’t want to try, and just wanted to deny Swint the ball. The ball ultimately found Spinelli, whose 3-pointer at the buzzer back-rimmed out.
Sullivan was the difference. During a late huddle, Neely asked his star what he wanted, and Sullivan asked his teammates. The overwhelming response was that they wanted the ball in his hands. He delivered in the biggest moment to bring them a long-awaited championship.
“We wanted the ball in his hands down the stretch, simple as that,” Neely said. “You saw all the plays he made. At some point as a coach, you just have to get out of the way and not over-coach, just get the ball to your best player and let him do some work.”
While Sullivan made the biggest impact, he wasn’t alone. Though Swint finished with 24, Olmstead came up big defensively to quiet him for stretches and make life hard on him. Neely knew it would take a full team effort and all 32 minutes to take down a Newton North team that hadn’t lost to an MIAA team all season — one he saw as a mirror image to his own team, with a stud at the top surrounded by tough, hard-nosed players.
Neely’s group proved to be tougher. Moments after the win, he was still in disbelief. While he didn’t expect this team to be the one to win it all, it proved to be the one for this season, and this moment.
“It’s incredible, to lose that many guys that we had,” Neely said. “We had three league all-stars leave and to go back and do this — I’m so proud.”
