Whitinsville Christian Wins MIAA Division 3 Championship Over Watertown

Whitinsville Christian’s size and experience helped the team to victories of at least 15 points in all five of its games leading to the title game.

On Saturday afternoon, Whitinsville Christian (23-2) defeated Watertown 42-36 for the Division 3 championship game at the DCU Center in Worcester. It was Whtinsville’s first state title since 2005.

With seven Whitinsville players measuring at least 6-foot-4, Watertown had few answers for Whitinsville’s size as Watertown’s tallest player was just 6-3.

Whitinsville, the newly crowned state champions, was led by 6-9 senior center Hans Miersma. He scored 12 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and asserted his size and strength early in the game.

Less than four minutes into the game, a Miermsa dunk attempt rattled the basket so hard that it caused a 10-minute delay so tournament officials could collapse the hoop and fix the shaken-up shot clock.

After trailing 9-7 to end the first quarter, Whitinsville (23-2) took a 21-15 lead into halftime behind solid defense and costly Watertown turnovers.

Watertown (19-6), located about 20 minutes west of Boston, had a chance to take the lead with less than three minutes left in the game.

After a failed Watertown 3-point attempt, a Miersma layup on the other end gave Whitinsville a 35-32 lead that was never relinquished.

Senior guards Taylor Bajema and Colin Richey each contributed 12 points in the win for Whitinsville, a town about an hour southwest of Boston.

Guard Marco Coppola, the leading scorer in Eastern Massachusetts, and forward Cory Donohue each scored 15 points in the loss for Watertown.