The “all in” approach by Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys’ Prep Basketball has Coach Mike Mannix and his team two games away from going all the way.

The Titans (22-1) earned the top seed of the New England Prep School Athletic Council AA Conference tournament and will face #4 Bradford Christian Academy in a semifinal Saturday at home at 2 p.m. The teams did not face each other during the regular season.

If the Academy wins the semifinal, it would host the final on Sunday at a time yet to be announced.

Saturday’s game (and Sunday’s, if necessary) will be live streamed here.

Coach Mannix adopted the “All In” motto in 2019-20, when WMA came out of the fourth seed to win its first basketball title since 1986.

Senior leadership has been crucial throughout the season, led by returners Kyle Filipowski ’22 (Duke University), Deven Austin ’22 (Princeton University), Matt Filipowski ’22 (Harvard University) and Sean Seymour ’22. Newcomers Jeremiah Dorsey ’23, Jon Medley ’23 and Nikias Schoenerstedt ’22 have also played critical roles.

Quotes from Coach Mike Mannix

On WMA making the tournament: “I am proud of the team for how they have played unselfishly all year. We have also prioritized the defensive end of the floor. Those have been two crucial factors in us having the success we have had thus far.” 

On when this year’s team clicked: “We clicked in September. The leadership of the team - Devin and Kyle as captains, and Sean and Matt as seniors, who know how we do things - were very welcoming to the new guys, but also showed them what ‘All in’ means.” 

On the team’s biggest strength: “Our size and ability to score the ball in multiple ways has proven to be our best weapon.”