NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The McCann Tech boys basketball team Thursday got a bounce back win over Hampden Charter, 60-43.
It was a well rounded night on offense for the Hornets (7-3) as they were able to take control of the game right from the opening tip. McCann had three players with 15 points: Landon Champney, Cole Boisvert, and Jacob Howland.
After going down 1-0 at the beginning of the first quarter McCann went on a 13-0 run to close the quarter, hitting on all cylinders both offensively and defensively. The Hornets were able to attack the zone of Hampden Charter and get good looks down low that opened the game up for them from the outside later on.
The defensive end for the Hornets was equally up to the task as they were active in the passing lanes and were able to turn good defense into offense.
“This season has been all about adversity, last game we lost and played terribly,” McCann Tech coach Chris Bullett said. “Part of battling adversity is coming out tonight and showing that the last game is in the past. We talked about that a lot and the guys came out with great energy and that’s what leads you to a win.”
The second quarter saw a little bit of a different story as Hampden Charter came out on an 8-2 run to bring them back with striking distance. It wasn’t until Cole Boisvert knocked down a corner 3 when pressure was building to stop the bleeding and later send McCann on a big run that would essentially leave Hampden Charter in the dust.
“Threes are big,” Bullett said. “We haven’t been shooting the three well, but we have good shooters all over the place, we just need confidence when shooting. I’m seeing a lot of them make progressions and that play set us up for the second half
“Once we took care of the ball it was going to be tough for them to come back.”
Indeed it was, McCann took a 31-12 lead into the break and cruised in the second half to a nice win.
The one bright spot for Hampden Charter was Curen’cee Smith, who had 19 points in the game and 14 in the third quarter alone. It wasn’t enough to bring Hampden Charter close and McCann just ran the clock out in the fourth quarter.
McCann Tech has been playing good ball this season with Monday's loss ending a six-game win streak. The Hornets will hope that this win can set them back on the right path as they look to make a run for the end of the season. They will jump right back into action Friday against Ludlow at home.