From coaching staff down to players, Somerset Berkley's chase at history a team effort
FALL RIVER — Bill Burgess' athletic ability stood out during his high school days.
The Somerset Hall of Famer was a four-sport athlete in 1954. As a senior, he set the state football scoring record (159) and led the Raiders to their second straight undefeated season. In track and field, Burgess was considered fast, recording a time of 10.2 in the 100. In baseball, he was the team's best hitter.
But maybe Burgess' greatest acccomplish that season happened on the hardwood floor where he was Somerset's best player, leading the Raiders to their second state hoop title in school history.
Now the 2024-25 Raiders boys basketball will get a chance to etch their names next to him.
The Somerset Berkley boys basketball team worked out on the Thomas "Skip" Karam court inside the Luke Urban Fieldhouse on the campus of B.M.C. Durfee High school Thursday in preparation for Sunday's Division 2 state final matchup against Malden Catholic at Tsougas Center.
"It's a great feeling to still be playing," Raiders longtime head coach Bob Slater said. "We just want to compete. We're not going there to lose. We have to play 32 good minutes of basketball to beat Malden Catholic. Hopefully, we can do it."
Slater watched carefully as his team went through a series of shooting and running drills in the final countdown of practice days leading into Sunday.
"I'm so happy how together they are," Slater said. "It's really fun to watch them. There were times this year I was watching them play and not coaching. It's pretty refreshing to see high school kids and how unselfish they are. We had some kids that could have put up some big numbers but it would have defeated our purpose of playing team basketball."
There were games during the season the Raiders were tested, including the Division 2 state semifinal game against Masconomet.
"Playing D-R in double overtime and Bourne playing us really well in both games," Slater said. "Durfee taught us a big lesson here and Falmouth in the Crosby/Coute tourney. They were a lot of games we had to reach down."
Slater said his coaching staff — Chris Mendes, Andy Laurence, Ray McDonald and Mason Medeiros — is one of the best in the state.
"They're phenomenal," he said. "It's the first year for Coach Laurence as a volunteer. He knows every out of bounds play for the other team. Coach Mendes is a God send the last few years. With all his college experience, he has so much knowledge of the game. His best thing is his technique.
"Ray is very quiet so when he gets excited the kids know what he's saying. It's great he gets to see his son play. Mason does not say much to us but he's real helpful with the kids on the bench. He can honest with them and tell them what they can do better."
Senior captains Brendan McDonald, Max Finlaw and Finn Bjork along with juniors Dom Taylor and Colten Pacheco were asked if they know their history when a picture of Burgess was presented to them.
"It's crazy," McDonald said. "Not many people in this town were alive when he was playing. It's the first experience for everyone and we got close last year. Now we're in that game and hopefully we come out on top."
Finlaw added, "That's kind of crazy to see. Not only how long we haven't been there before but also to see how much history our program has and has been around. That's cool to see."
Taylor said its crazy how long the photo of Burgess has been around.
"That was a long time ago," Taylor said. "It's absolutely crazy. But I'm glad we are here now."
Bjork was equally impressed while looking at Burgess picture.
"So he's 89 years old now, that's unreal," Bjork said. "The picture explains how long it has been since we pulled it off. Black and white photo. It's insane and pretty surreal to realize what we've done."
Pacheco said he's really proud of the team's season.
"Our team has building for a couple years now," he said. "I'm really proud of far we came from. Nobody expected us to go this far. I'm really proud of our town."
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Somerset Berkley boys basketball aims to make history in MIAA final
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