Cougars celebrate Senior Night with 31-point victory to improve to 16-2
Feb 12, 2024
Mason Belanger takes a 3-pointer in the second quarter. Photos by Brendan Cassidy
Old Colony improved to 16-2 with a 71-40 victory.
Luke Meelia attempts a free throw during the fourth quarter of the win.
The Cougars stand for the National Anthem before the game.
Five seniors were honored before the game.
The Cougars celebrate a Mason Belanger three-pointer which forced a Sturgis West timeout.
Chase Lafountain attempts a shot.
Luke Meelia attempts a shot.
Maxwell Finney evades a defender.
Aven Beauchemin receives a pass from Chase Lafountain.
ROCHESTER — Winning has become a habit for the Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School boys basketball team.
On Monday, Feb. 12, the Cougars defeated Sturgis Charter Public School West 71-40 on Senior Night, notching their 16th win of the season.
Junior Wyatt Smiley made a 3-pointer in the opening minute to start the game’s scoring, and the Cougars never looked back, maintaining the lead for the whole game.
The win marked the ninth time this season where Old Colony has won by at least 30 points.
Old Colony featured an aggressive full court press defense, forcing a slew of Sturgis West turnovers on the way to building a 45-18 lead going into halftime.
“We were all locked in together,” said Old Colony boys basketball head coach Matt Trahan. “[The press] has been our claim to fame. We have been using it all year and it always bodes well for us.”
According to Trahan, the Cougars hold themselves to a high standard every time they touch the floor. He said the team aims to score 85 points in each game and tries to hold opponents under 40 points.
Senior Aven Beauchemin orchestrated the Cougar offense at the point guard position, scoring 10 points while controlling the pace of play.
“Aven is the nicest kid you’ll ever meet and has great attention to detail,” said Trahan. “He knows how I want it and he plays that way.”
Senior Luke Meelia led all scorers with 15 points. Junior Maxwell Finney added 12 points and Smiley finished with 10.
Seniors Beauchemin, Meelia, Christopher Darcy, Mason Belanger and William Baker were honored before the game as part of Senior Night festivities.
“The seniors have led the way for the rest of the team,” said Trahan. “They’ve done a great job.”
Old Colony started the season with 10 consecutive wins before falling to Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School on Jan. 22.
“This team is a special one to me,” said Trahan. “I think if this team plays the way they are supposed to, we could make some sort of a run.”
Despite their dominant 16-2 record, the Cougars still have room for improvement according to Trahan, especially when it comes to rebounding the basketball.
“I think we were outrebounded by one tonight,” said Trahan. “We have to crash the glass. We did okay with it tonight but I think it could have been better.”
Old Colony has already claimed the Mayflower Athletic Conference small division championship and now sets its sights on the Massachusetts state tournament.
“Anything is possible,” said Trahan.
The Cougars will host Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
