Gutmann's Three Helps Hornets to First Win
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It took a little senior leadership for the McCann Tech boys' basketball team to earn its first win of the year on Friday.With his team staring down an 0-6 start to the 2011-12 season, senior guard Nate Gutmann put in a fourth quarter to remember in the Hornets' first Tri-County League game against Smith Vocational. Gutmann, who was averaging 5.6 points a game so far this year, scored 13 of his team's 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to secure a 48-46 win at The Hive.
"It was a hard-fought game, and the fourth quarter was back and forth," McCann head coach Justin Kratz said. "It was absolutely awesome fourth quarter for Nate. After he hit the game-winning 3-point shot, I called a timeout, and they had eight seconds left. We pressed, and Nate came up with a steal to seal the win. It was good to get our first win and be able to breathe that sigh of relief. Now, hopefully we can play with a little more confidence and get some momentum going."
After building an initial 11-3 lead, Kratz said his team got a bit complacent defensively, allowing the Vikings to take a 27-23 lead into the half. The Hornets (1-5) cleaned things up on the defensive end in the third quarter, holding Smith to just five points in the frame to tie the score up heading into the fourth. That's when Gutmann took over, scoring 13 of his game-high 22 points in the final quarter. He also had three rebounds and five assists, while classmate Mike Chappell chipped in with nine points and three assists.
Allan Rivera matched Gutmann with 22 points for the Vikings, who also received 11 points from Jordan Castillo.
McCann next plays Mount Everett in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament on Saturday. The game will be held at MCLA and will start at 2:15 p.m.