The Bishop Stang Spartans brought pride to Dartmouth on Saturday when they won their first state title. After a historical season led by head coach Colbey Santos, the Spartans (23-3) earned the Div. 3 state champion title when they trounced the Oxford Pirates (22-3) at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, 80-64.

Stang led the first quarter even as Oxford matched high-scorer Brycen Goodine, coming out on top at 23-19. However, the Spartans shot ahead after a flurry of three-pointers scored by Damien Perry and Avery DeBrito. By halftime, Stang was comfortably ahead at 46-30. The Pirates managed to close in on Stang, tightening the score at 52-42, but Stang maintained its lead.

The closest Oxford would come to closing the point gap was in the fourth quarter, 75-64, but Stang never let up on the gas until the clock hit zero.

The entire arena erupted into cheers. The players' reactions ran the gamut of ecstatic laughter to tears.

"It's a credit to those [players]," Santos said. "They just believe in one another, they're a true family. There's a brotherhood they've started, they don't get too down and they don't get too hard [on themselves]. They looked at each other and they trusted each other, and they pulled off a state championship through trust."

Santos has been named as Boston Globe’s Div. 3 Coach of the Year.

“[Colbey] is just a great example of a really good person who’s also a very good coach but having him as a role model for our basketball team is so, so positive,” said Principal Peter Shaughnessy in a phone call.

However, the victory belongs not just to the basketball team but to the entire school. Students and faculty have supported the team throughout the playoffs. Color coordinated, decked in “war paint” and endlessly enthusiastic, Stang students have consistently ensured that tickets were sold out.

On March 15, Principal Peter Shaughnessy even declared afternoon classes would be cancelled and students would be shuttled to TD Bank North Garden support the team in the semifinal match against Bedford.

"It's unbelieveable," Santos said. "They followed us all the way to Springfield and I can't thank them enough, every single one of them. It was unbelievable."

The players were touched by the outpouring of support as well throughout the season.

"They couldn't believe it. They were shocked," Santos said. "Every time they were nervous, they would creep out and look through the tunnel and make sure they had some fans there and then they would hear it and they would go 'Wow, now we've got to go make you guys proud.'"

“We’re incredibly proud of our team, our coaching staff, our student body for the way they conducted themselves. Our entire community is really proud of our state championship,” Shaughnessy said.

He commended the basketball team for their tremendous composure and poise throughout the season.

Several games in the semi-finals leading up to championships were very close, point-wise. However, Stang controlled the championship game nearly from start to finish. This was not by accident.

"Before we came out, Brycen actually said 'I don't want to just win, I want to outwork these guys in every aspect of basketball,'" Santos said. "He really felt something that day and then the seniors rallied around that and the rest of the team followed."

After a 25-game long season spanning four months, the day culminated in a quiet, relieved bus ride back to Dartmouth as the players basked in their hard-won victory.