ORANGE — Mahar boys basketball coach Chad Softic had been waiting for the kind of performance his team put together on Friday. 

Hosting 23rd-seeded Boston United in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32, the 10th-seeded Senators found themselves in a dog fight in the fourth quarter. After trailing by as many as 11 points in the third, Hensley Esteve drained a 3-pointer with four minutes to play that put Boston United ahead, 42-41, its first lead since early in the second quarter. 

Mahar didn’t panic. Marshall Ames scored on the ensuing possession to put the Sens back ahead and after the Lions tied it back up with a free throw, Morgan Softic got to the line and made one. 

Jayden Delgado took it from there, scoring down low before grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing the put back to give Mahar a 48-43 lead with 1:49 to play. 

After Boston United’s Brivhonny Valcourt hit a 3 to cut the lead to 50-47 with one minute to go, Derek Collins found Delgado inside for two with 36 seconds to go. Collins forced a steal on the next possession and Mahar made its free throws from there to advance to the Round of 16 with a 58-47 victory. 

“What an electric atmosphere,” Softic said. “Boston United did a great job bringing their kids. It was a physical, intense basketball game. Our crowd was into it but there was great sportsmanship. It was a well played game. I’m so proud of the kids. We only had eight turnovers. I was worried all week about them speeding us up. I thought we did a hell of a job on the glass. 

“This is the team I thought we could be,” Softic added. “We just haven’t done it. That was a team I did not recognize out there tonight. I saw it a little bit this week in practice. We cranked on them and made them feel a little uncomfortable and it did feel uncomfortable. It was kind of teetering but they came out and played awesome today.”

Mahar (14-7) awaits the winner of No. 7 New Mission and No. 39 Community Charter School of Cambridge in the Round of 16, with the Senators hoping to make a similar run to the one it went on last year where they reached the semifinals. 

“The first game we’ve had all season where we started out the game hot and played with urgency,” Delgado said. “All season we didn’t have the glue we needed. Tonight we came together, everyone pitched in and we got a win. They punched us in the mouth but we didn’t let anything get away from us and played good defense all night.” 

Trailing 10-8 after one quarter, Mahar took control in the second by outscoring the Lions 17-8 to take a 25-18 lead into the half. The Senators opened the third quarter with six quick points to take a 31-20 lead but Boston United closed the third strong to cut the deficit to 38-32 going into the fourth. 

A 10-3 run by the Lions (8-11) gave them their 43-42 lead in the fourth. 

“They started off hot but we got right back in it,” Chad Softic said. “The biggest thing was we went up nine in the third but they made some plays, came back and took the lead on us. I thought psychologically that would hurt us but we just kept playing. It was a lot of fun.”

Chad Softic said he was pleased with the play of his point guard, Morgan Softic, for controlling the pace against an athletic Boston United team that wanted to get up and press whenever it could. 

“Morgan was the best player on the floor tonight,” Chad Softic said. “He was absolutely sensational. He was dialed in defensively, he got the ball to the right spots. That's the player we all know he can be. It was great to see him do it on the biggest stage so far this season.” 

Delgado led the way with 22 points in the win, 11 coming in the fourth quarter, while adding 16 rebounds. Ames tallied 14 points and eight rebounds, Softic scored 12 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, Collins added 10 points while Lian Lopez-Baez snatched eight rebounds in the victory. 

Valcourt led the Lions with 12 points. 

“We just need to keep playing like that,” Morgan Softic said. “We can’t change anything from what we did.” 

Pioneer 78, Prospect Hill 28 — The top-seeded Panthers looked the part on Friday, building a 39-14 lead at the half to cruise into the Round of 16 with a victory over 32nd-seeded Prospect Hill at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield. 

“It was a great win to get the first one to start this tournament,” Pioneer coach Scott Thayer said. “We were ready to go. We hadn’t played in almost a week but our energy and effort level was high. I’m proud of how we approached this game.” 

Kurt Redeker finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Brayden Thayer knocked down five 3s to tally 23 points while adding five rebounds and five assists, Alex McClelland recorded 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Jackson Glazier had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists while Hayden Killeen and Will Glazier each added three points in the victory. 

Next up for Pioneer (22-0) is No. 17 Old Colony, which is coming off a 67-59 win over Notre Dame Cristo Rey in the Round of 32.