Final: Newton North 53, Springfield Central 49

Teagan Swint leads the way with 22 points to send the Tigers to the state championship game against Franklin in Lowell this weekend. He hit six 3s.

Newton North 53, Central 49, 5.5 seconds left

Zyere Brown hit a 3 for the Golden Eagles to make it interesting.

Newton North 51, Central 46, 25.6 seconds left

Nick SPinelli makes two free throws for the Tigers.

Newton North 50, Springfield Central 46, 2:13 left

Unique Kynard converts another press induced turnover for Central. We're going down to the wire.

Newton North 50, Springfield Central 44, 2:45 left

Teagan Swint bangs in another 3. He has 21 points.

Newton North 47, Central 44, 3:33 left

Eagles are turning the pressure up. Teagan Swint's foul trouble coming into play on defense.

Newton North 45, Central 40, 5:02 left

Back to back steals and baskets inside for the Golden Eagles. Delay of game warning to Newton North.

Newton North 45, Central 36, 5:40 left

Timeout Newton North. Tigers ball after Centrral was called out of bounds on a catch in the halfcourt.

Newton North 45, Central 32, 7:11 left

Teagan Swint with back to back 3s. But he also just picked up his fourth foul and has to go sit.

Newton North 42, Central 32, 7:34 left

Teagan Swint hits another 3 to put the Tigers up double digits for the first time.

End 3Q: Newton North 39, Springfield Central 32

Teagan Swint hit a free throw with 3.2 seconds left for the Tigers. He has a game-high 12 points.

Newton North 38, Springfield Central 32, 26.3 seconds left 3Q

Big time 3 from Luke Washek for the Tigers to get some breathing room.

Newton North 35, Central 30, 58 seconds left 3Q

Central had a 6-0 run before a tough pull up by Julian Zakak to break it.

Newton North 33, Central 24, 2:48 left 3Q

Newton North's first free throws of the game. Jake Lyons makes one to put the Tigers ahead by nine.

Newton North 32, Central 24, 4:20 left 3Q

Missed layups are killing the Golden Eagles. They've come out in a half court trap that is causing some consternation for Newton North. The Tigers lead was cut to one possession but two Teagan Swint jumper pushed it back to eight.

Newton North 23, Central 20, 7:01 left 3Q

Jabari Sifrin getting to the rack for Central but having a tough time finishing.

Halftime: Newton North 23, Central 18

The Golden Eagles' length is starting to become a factor on both ends. JP Martinez has seven points for the Golden Eagles. Teagen Swint still leads the Tigers with six points. We nearly saw an insane putback dunk from Tre'Von Cameron in the final minute but it hit off the back rim.

Newton North 19, Central 14, 2:54 to halftime

Timeout on the floor.

Newton North 17, Central 12, 4:24 left 2Q

Offensive rebounding is helping the Golden Eagles narrow the gap.

Newton North 17, Central 9, 5:33 left 2Q

Game opening up a bit here, which hypothetically plays into Central's hands as the higher scoring team throughout the year, but the Tigers are running with them.

End 1Q: Newton North 12, Central 5

Teagan Swint hit a 3 with a few seconds left. He has 6 points for the Tigers.

Newton North 9, Central 5, 2:00 left 1Q

Tigers aren't afraid to hoist it from 3. If they start falling the lead will keep going up.

Newton North 5, Central 5, 4:04 left 1Q

Unforced turnovers have been a problem early for Central. But the Golden Eagles are creating in transition, too.Jabari Sifrin tied the game with a free thrwo.

Newton North 5, Central 2, 6:21 left 1Q

Pregame

Who's going to play against Franklin?

One spot in the MIAA Division 1 boys basketball state championship game is decided. The other is up for grabs at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Worcester State when No. 3 Newton North faces off with No. 7 Springfield Central in the state semifinals.

Newton North last reached the Final Four in 2023, while Central was at this stage in 2022, the last year the Tigers played for a state championship. The Golden Eagles advanced to the 2020 state final before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they were declared co-champs with Lynn English. Newton North won back-to-back state titles in 2005 and 2006.

The teams last met in 2018 at the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, a 75-69 win for the Golden Eagles.

The Tigers (23-1) are on a 14-game winning streak and undefeated against in-state competition. Their one loss came in overtime at the HoopHall Classic against Albany (California).

Senior guard Teagan Swint leads the way for Newton North. He'll play at Johns Hopkins next year and is the No. 36-ranked recruit in Massachusetts this season according to New England Recruiting Report.

Unique Kynard is the Golden Eagles' top scorer averaging 14.1 points per game. He's his 38 3s this year. Jabari Sifrin is also in double figures at 12.7 per game.