Both Old Colony boys and girls basketball teams head into MIAA tournament play coming off of state Vocational Small School-division championships.
The boys team punched its ticket to the finals by knocking off Franklin County Tech, 62-50, in the semifinals. Hunter Soares led the Cougars with 17 points in the win. Jarrett Taylor was right behind Soares, scoring 16 points. Caden Letendre (12 points) also finished in double figures against Franklin County Tech.
Things only got tougher for Old Colony in the championship game against Minuteman High School. The final was a nail-biter, but the Cougars won, 59-55. Jojo Cortes and Cooper Howell both had strong showings and scored 14 points apiece, though it was, once again, Soares who led the Cougars on offense. The senior finished with 19 points.
The state Vocational Small School championship is Old Colony’s third under head coach Matt Trahan.
Old Colony girls basketball reached the title game by winning a tightly contested, semifinal matchup of its own, knocking off South Shore, 42-39. Savanna Halle and Hailey Hathaway each drained three 3-pointers in the win, though Halle had the slight scoring edge by the end of the night. She finished with 15 points to Hathaway’s 13.
But when it came to the state Vocational Small School championship game, Hathaway was the one who took control for the Cougars. The freshman scored 17 points in their 52-44 win over Franklin County Tech. Halle scored nine for Old Colony, as did Olivia Perry.
Looking toward the MIAA Division 4 South sectional tournament, both Old Colony’s boys and girls basketball teams will open up at home in the first round.
Sixth-seeded Old Colony girls (15-5) will play host to No. 11 Sturgis East (9-7) on Thursday, February 27, at 6:30 pm. The third-seeded Old Colony boys (16-4) were scheduled to host No. 14 Atlantis Charter (9-8) on February 26 and, with a win, would host the winner of the First Round match between West Bridgewater and Cape Cod Academy (date TBA).
Old Rochester
Old Rochester girls basketball earned the second seed in the MIAA Division 2 South tournament after going 17-3 on the year. The Bulldogs were scheduled to host No. 14 Canton (13-9) on February 26. A victory would put them into a quarterfinal home game against the winner between New Mission and Westwood at a date to be announced.
ORR brought postseason experience between Meg Hughes and Mary Butler, along with a deep team. Although ORR’s leading scorer, Cadence Johnson, only averaged 10.5 points per game this season, the Bulldogs experienced continued success because they have a well-balanced offense and an in-your-face approach on defense.
ORR boys, at 10-10, entered the Division 3 South tournament as one of five .500 teams in the bracket, but the Bulldogs drew the shortest straw and faced a stiff challenge in the First Round at No. 3 Monomoy (16-4) on February 26. The top two seeds received First Round byes.
Furthermore, ORR entered the fray without Ryon Thomas, having already lost Nick Johnson, the Bulldogs’ best player.
By Nick Friar