CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Hoosac Valley boys basketball team punched its ticket to the Elite Eight in the Division State Tournament with a win over Ware, 53-30, on Tuesday night.
It wasn’t the prettiest performance we’ve been accustomed to from the Hurricanes this year, but they found a way to get it done in the end. Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the first quarter, and after scoring the first five points of the game, Frank Field picked up foul trouble with two early ones. Ware was able to hang around knocking down back to back triples to keep them within one possession after the first.
It wasn’t until the second quarter that the Hurricanes finally got their feet under them, and it was Trevor Moynihan who gave them the spark off the bench. Moynihan scored 10 of his 15 on the night in the quarter and really got the Hurricanes going. The Hurricanes went on a 16-2 run ramping up the defensive pressure and stretching this guy out.
“Trevor came off the bench and gave us a huge lift and he usually does,” Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson said. “He’s been playing really good right now and he’s in a groove, he’s a good shooter if you leave him alone he’s going to make shots.”
Hoosac held Ware to just five points in the second quarter and went on to lead at the break, 30-13.
Hoosac’s biggest issue on the night was offensive rebounds, whether it was in the first half with Frank on the bench with foul trouble or in the second half with a lack of energy and awareness. Fortunately for Hoosac Valley, it was able to keep Ware at bay shooting the ball. Hoosac only managed to score six points in the quarter but held Ware to just five points for the second straight quarter allowing the Hurricanes to preserve their double-digit lead.
“We weren’t ourselves tonight, but this time of the year you’ll take any win you can get,” Robinson said. “It’s survive and advance and everyone knows this, so we just have to keep playing and take the wins as they come.”
Ware looked like they had one more run in them to try and make this a ball game but they just couldn’t generate enough offense to get it under ten and really make things interesting. Credit to Hoosac’s Joey McGovern who knocked down two 3s in the quarter on his way to 11 points in the game and Frank Field who had six of his 15 to shut the door on Ware. In a game that Hoosac didn’t play particularly well, a 23-point win is something they can be happy with, but as they move on in this tournament they will need to tighten things up if they want to defend that No. 1 seed they have.
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Hoosac Valley will continue its post-season run at home against the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 8 Hopedale (11-10) and No.9 Granby (16-5).
