Made the trek to Archbishop Williams for the opening day of the 27th annual BABC Slades Holiday Classic. Always a thrill to sit next to BABC founder Leo Papile and his trusty sidekick Cotton. Many thanks to Archbishop Williams athletic director Sean McDonagh and Sully Coady for their tireless work in ensuring the event went off without a hitch.

Host team Archbishop Williams opened the festivities against Western Mass. power Springfield Central. Thanks to the brilliant all-around play of guard Tristan Rodriquez (35 points), the Bishops were able to hang tough for a half (35-35), before the Golden Eagles’ superiority took over in the second half.

Zavion Monroe scored 22 points, while Rakesh Reid added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds as Springfield Central rolled to a 77-56 victory.

Worcester North (4-0) sent a loud message that it has no intentions of relinquishing its Division 1 state title any time soon. The Polar Bears turned in an impressive display on both sides of the floor in cruising to a 78-51 win over Hillhouse. In fairness to the Academics (2-2), they were without their best player (Avery Sutton) and they struggled to get anything going.

That being said, Worcester North came out ready to play from the start. Point guard Amir Jenkins (10 points, 12 assists) is your prototypical old-guard playmaker, always looking to pass first. Forwards Teshaun Steele (23 points, seven rebounds) and Joseph Okla (18 points, 14 rebounds) are going to be a handful for anyone to handle.

One of the staples of the BABC Slades tournament over the years is Windsor and its no-nonsense coach Ken Smith. The proud owner of more than 600 wins in a career which started at Windsor in 1989, the Warriors came into town and improved to 5-0 with a 85-75 win over Brockton.

A big second quarter gave Windsor a 43-25 halftime lead and they coasted from there. Anthony Williams had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Jakeel Martin poured in 20 points in the first half on his way to a game-high 25.

If there was a bright spot for Brockton, it would have to be center Chidi Nwosu. A skilled big man, Nwosu finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. He is going to be a handful for many MIAA teams heading into 2024.

The most heated of the five contests came in the fourth game where Eagle Academy (NY) outlasted Burke in a defensive tussle, 57-54. Mangok Lok had 13 points, while Jakai Sanders and Jeremiah Jacobs came up with big plays down the stretch.

Burke was playing without two starters and may have run out of gas at the end, no surprise given the intensity displayed by both teams throughout the contest. Jaeden Roberts, the son of former South Boston great Roger Roberts, was superb with a game-high 27 points.

In the final game of the game, BC High started slowly but picked up the tempo late in the first quarter and coasted to a 77-51 win over Brookline. James Jones led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Dan Civello knocked down five from beyond the arc and finished with 19 points as well. Julian Sustache tallied seven of the his 13 points in the first quarter when BC High was desperately in need of a spark.

The Eagles received some timely contributions from the bench, notably Ritchny Blaise. He contributed six points, six rebounds and five assists (one of three BC High players to accomplish that feat).