NORTHAMPTON — Naihmond Peters-Wolfe hoisted 3s unconsciously.

It’s what the Northampton sophomore does. It’s why Blue Devils coach Rey Harp inserted him into Wednesday’s MIAA Division 2 state tournament preliminary round game against No. 33 Somerset-Berkley. Peters-Wolfe shoots 3s in warm ups instead of layups.

He hit two wide-open triples in the first half to extend No. 32 Northampton’s lead, surprising the Blue Raiders, as there isn’t much film on the postseason call up.

“That’s what we expected. He’s a gamer,” Harp said. “He’s a big addition for us. He makes us better.”

They helped Northampton open up a double-digit lead at the half, but it dwindled to just four with 4 minutes, 44 seconds remaining following an 8-2 Somerset-Berkley run.

The Blue Devils found Peters-Wolfe on the wing for their next possession. The Blue Raiders scrambled to close him out. The sophomore with a blonde spot dyed into his afro kept composed, pump faked and side stepped into the open floor. That move alone sent Northampton’s crowd into delirium. The fans exploded even louder when he splashed the 3 to push the Blue Devils’ lead back out to seven and put the game away.

“I didn’t (think), I wasn’t even looking at the scoreboard, I was just focusing on the next shot,” Peters-Wolfe said.

He finished with 14 points and four 3s, as Northampton prevailed 67-57 to reach the Round of 32 for the second year in a row. The Blue Devils (14-7) will play at No. 1 seed and defending champion Malden Catholic (18-2), which had a bye, on Saturday at 3 p.m.

“Right now our goal is to extend our season every game. We know that if a couple things don’t go our way out here, our season’s over,” Harp said. “We know Malden Catholic. That’s a tough challenge. My guys are up for it.”

Nearly everything went Northampton’s way early. Junior Silas Coles opened the scoring with a tomahawk dunk on the fast break, and the Blue Devils held Somerset-Berkley off the scoreboard for 5:36. He scored a co-team-high 18 points.

“It was kind of like a dream. I was walking down the court after and it all went by like that,” Coles said. “I was like ‘am I for real right now?’ When I have plays like that, it just goes by in an instant. The way that helps us start the game is probably the best thing we can get.”

Northampton scored the first seven points, but the Blue Raiders shaved their deficit to 9-6 50 seconds into the second quarter.

Somerset-Berkley settled into a 2-3 zone shortly after. The Blue Devils tore it to pieces. Trey Rios and Caleb Steineger probed probed the hole at the foul line and found either one-on-one matchups to attack the basket, crisp passes to cutters or kickouts to open shooters.

“We were slow getting started with the scoring, but when we found a rhythm against the zone, we do have guys who are strong passers, we have guys who are able to establish the next guy on the perimeter,” Harp said. “That was big for us getting the ball in the basket. Then they changed things up.”

The Blue Raiders cycled through a 1-3-1 zone before settling on man to man. They shaved their 15-point halftime deficit to seven early in the fourth quarter and eventually pulled within two possessions.

Northampton never let them any closer and finished the game whipping passes away from swarming defenders and sinking free throws.

Kelvin Perez score 18 points for the Blue Devils.

“He’s one of the most confident scorers I’ve coached. If he’s not scoring, he’s setting the table for us,” Harp said. “He’s a special player for us, and we go as he goes.”

Whittier Tech 90, Frontier 54 — The Frontier boys basketball team’s season came to an end on Wednesday in Haverhill. 

The Redhawks won their final two games of the regular season to secure a spot in the MIAA Div. 4 tournament, coming in as the No. 36 seed and taking on No. 29 Whittier Tech on Wednesday in the preliminary round. 

The Wildcats put together a huge second half to make sure Frontier wouldn’t spring the upset on the road. Leading 40-30 at the break, Whittier outscored the Redhawks 24-17 in the third quarter and 26-7 in the fourth to pull away with a 90-54 victory to knock Frontier out of the bracket. 

“It was a tough night but a great learning experience,” Redhawks coach Josh Morse said. “We had two freshmen contribute, we have an amazing athlete who’s a sophomore in Owen Babb and a bunch of skilled returners which means we’ll have opportunities next year. These are some of the best, quality men you’ll find anywhere on this team.” 

Frontier finished its season with a 10-11 record. Whittier Tech (11-10) advanced to play at No. 4 Bourne in the Round of 32 on Friday.

Danny Fellows finished with 13 points for Frontier, with Babb adding in 11 points. Luke Howard scored nine points, Sasha Dragicevich and Max Millette both scored eight points, Nico Fasulo knocked down a 3 while Jack Carey scored two points in the loss. 

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