Hurricanes Rally in Second Half to Win Regional Title

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Hoosac Valley boys basketball team Saturday rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to earn a 69-65 win over Duggan Academy in the Western Massachusetts Class D Championship Game.

 

Frank Field scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and Trevor Moynihan scored seven of his 15 in the final eight minutes as the top-seeded Hurricanes won their 11th straight game and improved to 19-2 this winter.

 

Hoosac Valley earlier on Saturday learned that it again will be the team to beat in the season's final tournament, the Division 5 State Tournament that gets underway on Monday. The Hurricanes will start later in the week against the winner of Monday's preliminary round game between Mount Everett and Keefe Tech Regional in Framingham.

 

Saturday's game could not affect Hoosac Valley's state tournament seed one way or the other, but there was still plenty on the line.

 

And when the Hurricanes' backs were to the wall in the second half, they did what they needed to do to add another title to the banner on the gym wall back in Cheshire.

 

"The amount of emotions we go through, the ups and downs in every game, it's insane," Hoosac Valley senior Joey McGovern said. "You've just got to keep a good head on your shoulders, stay calm and keep pushing through.

 

"That's what we did. We trusted each other. And it ended up working out for us."

 

McGovern scored 19 points in the win, including a free throw with less than a second on the clock to make it a two-possession game after Duggan's Allen Miranda (24 points) drained a 3 to make it 68-65 with 1.2 seconds left.

 

Duggan's Jaylen Edwards (15 points) drove the lane for a bucket to give his team a 49-38 lead with about 2 minutes left in the third quarter.

 

Hoosac Valley answered with a 14-point run that went into the fourth quarter to retake the lead.

 

Field got things started by driving to the basket and getting fouled. He hit both his free throws to get the margin back down to single digits.

 

Moynihan hit a 3, and McGovern got an and-one to close the third quarter with the Hurricanes down by just three, 49-46.

 

Moynihan and McGovern each made 3s to start the fourth quarter, and Hoosac Valley went up by three.

 

"We needed somebody to step up," Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson said. "And today, it was the eighth-grader, Moynihan, who hit some big shots for us.

 

"He got us going, and then we just fed off him and got a couple of nice three-point plays."

 

Robinson said the Hurricanes were able to stop Duggan's momentum at just the right time in the third quarter.

 

"A couple more baskets [for Duggan], and we're in big trouble," he said. "Because we can't press them. We can't press them. And that's how you have to get back into a game, right? But, fortunately, we made some adjustments on our defense. Some guys listened, and some guys you still have to corral in, but it worked. 

 

"It kept them at bay."

 

The teams matched each other basket for basket after Hoosac Valley's quick six to open the fourth. Miranda hit a 3 with just more than 4 minutes left to play to give Duggan its last lead at 59-58.

 

Then Hoosac Valley went on the run that decided the game, an 8-0 spurt that started with a Field bucket assisted by McGovern.

 

Moynihan connected from the elbow, and Field put back an offensive rebound to push the lead to 64-59. Then, with about half a minute left to play, Adan Wicks drove to the basket and fed Qwanell Bradley (13 points), who finished to put the Hurricanes ahead by seven points.

 

Miranda hit two 3s down the stretch to keep things interesting, but Duggan's comeback bid was stymied when it needed three fouls starting at the 22-second mark to get Hoosac Valley to the foul line.

 

On the third foul, with 6.8 seconds left, Moynihan sank a pair to make it 68-62.

 

Moments later, when it was all said and done, Robinson was one coach who was not looking past the regional final.

 

"I live for Western Mass tournaments, man, I love this thing," he said. "This is all I care about. We'll get ready for the states, don't get me wrong. We'll play our tails off, and whatever happens, happens.

 

"But I really wanted this one. This one means a lot, because we've won six now. And five of those six were with [long-time assistant coach] Mike Larabee. He's not here today with us. But this one means a lot to me. This is the one that means the most right now. This was for him."