The Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School boys’ basketball team won two games in the MIAA Division 5 state tournament, earning the right to travel to Orange on March 5 to play in the “Sweet 16” round against the Mahar High School Senators.
Despite playing with great intensity and battling adversity the entire game, the Cougars came up short with a 56-42 loss to end the season. The team, which finished 22-3 overall, played their hearts out and represented Old Colony with the utmost passion and class.
Leading the scoring for Old Colony were Wyatt Smily with 8 points and Max Finney and Luke Meelia with 7 points each. A junior, Finney finished the season with a career total of 999 points, just one shy of the 1,000-point club.
The Cougars, seeded 21st in the Division 5 power rankings despite an impressive 18-2 regular-season record, played only one home game during the tournament and in the Preliminary Round, ousting 44th-ranked Notre Dame Cristo Ray, 63-36, on February 27. They then traveled to Springfield on March 1 to win a dramatic Round of 32 contest, 57-56, over 12th-seeded John J. Duggan Academy. Also coming into the tournament 18-2, Duggan was among 18 Division 5 teams with byes into the Round of 32.
Old Colony Basketball
By Logan Hamlet