NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The McCann Tech boys basketball team Monday took the rematch against Duggan Academy, 59-41.
It took everything McCann (8-3) had to win the first time these two teams met earlier in the season, but that wasn’t the case tonight at home.
McCann jumped out to a commanding lead early and finished the first quarter up 19-6 thanks to some help from Cole Boisvert and Owen Gagne, who combined for 17 first-quarter points.
Boisvert finished the game with 19 and Gagne had 15.
The two teams had different styles coming into this game with Duggan relying on the three ball and McCann going inside early and often. Gagne had a quick six points and really set the tone for the rest of the game.
“We try to get Owen the ball in the paint and let Owen make decisions because he’s a great decision maker,” McCann Tech coach Chris Bullett said. “Any time we can get him in that position, he’s going to get us a good shot. Today he had the size advantage and was able to go inside to score.”
McCann Tech continued with that same energy in the second half, extending the pressure and really forcing Duggan into tough shots and careless turnovers. Jacob Howland was the star of the second quarter knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to widen the gap. Howland finished the game with 15 points. The Hornets scored 22 points in the quarter to give them a comfortable lead going into the break, 41-21.
“Inside is everything for us.” Bullett said. “Even our shooters I want them to be aggressive and attack inside and tonight we did that. I thought that was our best half this year.”
Duggan did its best to claw back in the game but it was unable to get it within single digits. The best run they had was late in the fourth quarter with four minutes to go they were able to get it to 10, but the deficit was too much to climb back from and McCann turned it on once again to close the game for good.
McCann Tech will face off with Hampden Charter on Wednesday on the road after beating them by 17 last week.
