BRIDGEWATER — In the first half, not much separated Bourne and Burke in their Division 4 state semifinal Tuesday at Bridgewater-Raynham.
Then, in the second, Bourne junior captains Mike Dankert and Nate Reynolds took the game over and led the Canalmen to a 71-60 boys basketball victory.
The second-seeded Canalmen (23-1) advance to the state title game for a rematch with Wareham after winning the regular season matchup.
Burke’s season ends at 19-5.
“Two really good players,” Bourne coach Scott Ashworth said of Dankert and Reynolds. “The junior captains, they’re really not juniors. They’ve been playing for me since they got to high school.”
In the third quarter, Dankert hit 13 straight points before a teammate sank another point. He finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds, as Bourne dominated the glass. It was largely Dankert’s work that helped Bourne take a 52-48 lead into the fourth quarter.
From there, it was largely the work of Reynolds on the low block, as he scored eight points in that frame. Reynolds finished with 14 points and fought through some bad luck finishing in the first half.
“Nate had a tough time getting going,” Ashworth said. “I said to him, ‘You don’t have to be great for 32 (minutes). We’re in a position now, be great for eight.’ ”
Bourne received a major contribution from senior marksman Leo Andrade, who finished with 26 points, including a 6-of-7 night from beyond the arc. His nine points in the fourth quarter helped salt it away.
“If someone doesn’t step up, it could go either way,” Dankert said. “Someone had to do it.”
Burke battled throughout. Jaeshawn Rogers scored 15 points, while Jaeden Roberts had 12 and Malik Adamson had 13.
The pace was frenetic in the first half, but Burke led after the first quarter, jumping out to a 24-17 lead. Roberts led the way with six points, getting it done with both his jump shot and his trips to the rim.
The teams went back and forth in the second quarter. The finish was terrific. Andrade hit two treys, and Rogers scored on a drive, but Dankert’s putback as time ran out gave Bourne a 34-33 lead at the break.
Then Dankert put together an immense third quarter. He started the third with a put back of his own miss, then put together a one-man, 8-0 run that included a 3-pointer from the left baseline.
He then scored on a more traditional three-point play, and Andrade added a triple to give Bourne a 52-48 edge. Reynolds got back on track to start the fourth, as he banked one in then put back his own miss to give the Canalmen a 56-48 lead.
Adamson attacked the rim well in the fourth quarter for Burke, but Bourne wouldn’t flinch.
Now Bourne finds itself face to face with a rival with the state title on the line. Ashworth is already excited.
“Forget records. Forget what happened in the regular season. It’s Bourne-Wareham,” Ashworth said. “It’s not just Bourne-Wareham, South Coast Conference. It’s Bourne-Wareham, the whole thing.”
