NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Mount Everett boys basketball team Monday clinched a bid for the Division 5 State Tournament with a 54-39 win on the road against McCann Tech.
It was an electric crowd at the Hornets Nest for McCann Tech (12-5) on Senior Night, but Mount Everett (10-8) had other ideas about spoiling the party.
Michael Ullrich led the way for the Eagles with 17 points, Ben Monteleone added 11 and Justin Foster had 10.
Mount Everett looked to go inside early and often and found itself on the right side of two-and-one plays to help get the ball rolling. It wasn’t until Jacob Howland checked into the game for McCann to get the offense going. Howland knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the game close. Howland finished with 21 points including five 3-pointers.
Mount Everett took the early lead 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles started the second quarter soaring with a quick 6-0 run thanks to offensive rebounding. They were able to crash the boards on misses and give themselves second chance baskets that proved to be the difference maker in this game.
“We emphasized offensive rebounds because the last few games we lost we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds,” Mount Everett coach Jowe Warren said. “Boxing out is a lost art so I told the guys if a shot goes up, crash it, Justin Foster did a great job on the offensive boards and Rahilly and Mullen stepped up, and whether we made it or got a kick out we hit some open shots which was a big plus.”
It seemed like every loose ball, Mount Everett was first to respond, and that gave them a comfortable 24-16 lead at the break. After the break McCann Tech looked to finally match the intensity going on a 5-0 run of their own thanks to some full court pressure that Mount Everett struggled with all game long.
McCann cut the deficit to six but was unable to get over that hump. Mount Everett answered right back with four 3s in the quarter to help extend that lead once more.
The fourth quarter got a little interesting with McCann going back to that full court pressure causing fits for Mount Everett. McCann Tech was able to go on a few runs and cut the deficit to 11 points with 2 minutes left, but Mount Everett did well to hang on and see this one out.
“It got closer than it should have, or where I would have liked it, but it was hard to communicate with the fans rocking on senior night for them, so give their kids credit for playing hard all the way to the end,” Warren said. “It was a big game for us, we needed it to get into the state tournament so a lot of pressure on the boys but they stepped up.”
Mount Everett will learn Saturday who it will play in the Western Mass sectional tournament that will serve as a tune-up for the state tourney.
McCann Tech will try to shake it off as they face Mount Greylock Wednesday night on the road.
