WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Hoosac Valley boys basketball team Tuesday went on a 13-0 run in the second quarter to take control of the game and went on to a 76-44 win over Mahar in the Division 5 State Semi-Finals.
Top-seeded Hoosac Valley (22-2) moves on to this weekend’s State Championship at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, where it will face either No. 2 New Mission (17-6) or No. 3 Pioneer Valley (18-5), who meet on Wednesday evening at Worcester State in the other half of the bracket.
The Hurricanes led their semi-final wire to wire, getting buckets from Frank Field and Qwanell Bradley in the first two minutes to take a 5-0 lead and never looking back.
It was an 18-9 Hoosac Valley lead by the end of the first quarter, but it was the start of the second when the Hurricanes delivered the knockout blow.
After the Senators (18-6) scored the quarter’s first two points, the ‘Canes rolled off the next 13, starting with
a basket from Trevor Moynihan (21 points) and ending with a Field 3-pointer assisted by Adan Wicks to make it 31-12 with about two minutes left in the half.
Field finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Joey McGovern scored a game-high 29 points – 21 on 3-pointers – and passed out three assists.
Moynihan scored eight points, including a pair of 3s, in the decisive run.
“I thought we were dialed in defensively in the first quarter,” Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson said. “I liked the way we were playing them. In the second quarter, I think we just intensified … and just limited their second chances.
“That was the key, getting on the glass, because we’re a little undersized. But Frank’s a monster when he wants to be. He’s a helluva player.”
McGovern closed the half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Hoosac Valley on top, 36-14, and Mahar never got within 20 points the rest of the way.
His 29 points on Tuesday upped his team-best scoring average to 17.6 points per game this season as Hoosac Valley scored its most points since Feb. 2.
“I think energy was a big thing today,” McGovern said of the victory. “We started off slow in the first half. We were still up 22 at half-time, but we went in, and we talked about energy, bringing up the energy, turning up the heat, and that’s what we did. We started hitting shots.”
McGovern knocked down four of his triples in the second half. Moynihan scored 13 points after half-time.
Qwanell Bradley scored eight points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked a shot. Adan Wicks scored four, and Kaden Tatro added three points in the win.
“We’ve got four or five guys who can score and score whenever we need it,” Robinson said. “Moynihan’s been on a nice roll for us in the tournament. He’s done a great job. He’s an eighth grader, but he’s not. He loves this. He loves the lights. He loves the big stage.
“He had a dream that he wanted to play in the state final, and here he is in his eighth-grade year, he’s going to get it. Amazing.”
Hoosac Valley could see a familiar foe in the final. The Hurricanes beat Pioneer Valley, 68-54, at the Hoophall Classic in January at Springfield College.
Whoever the opponent, the game will mark the Hurricanes’ first appearance in a state final since 2015, when Hoosac Valley dropped a 61-47 decision to Old Rochester, the program that beat Pittsfield on Monday in the Division 3 semi-finals.
