ROCHESTER — The Old Colony boys basketball team added another bullet point to their 2024 resume, winning the Massachusetts Vocational Athletic Director’s Association small division tournament.

Every year, between the regular season and Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, the four best small vocational basketball teams and the four best large vocational basketball teams compete in the MVADA tournament to crown vocational champions.

Old Colony qualified for the tournament due to its successful regular season, where the Cougars won 18 of 20 games.

The team entered the vocational tournament with the same record as first round opponent Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School. The location of the matchup between the two was decided by a coin flip, which Old Colony lost.

The Cougars then traveled two hours to Palmer, Massachusetts to face Pathfinder on Friday, Feb. 23.

The trip proved to be well worth it for Old Colony, who left with a 68-39 victory and clinched a spot in the vocational title game against Upper Cape Regional Technical High School.

Winning comfortably is nothing new to the 2024 Cougars: The win over Pathfinder was their 14th win of the season by at least 20 points.

This time around, the Cougars were able to play the game at home as they were seeded higher than Upper Cape.

Even Old Colony boys basketball Head Coach and Athletic Director Matt Trahan was blown away by the support the team received at the championship game on Sunday, Feb. 25.

“I have been here for 10 years — I have never seen that many people in that gym before,” said Trahan. “We had to move fans around from under the baskets.”

After a win against Sturgis West on Feb. 12, Trahan said the part of the game his team needed to work on most was rebounding, which was an issue in the first half of the vocational title game as well. The Cougars were outrebounded by Upper Cape 16-7 going into halftime.

Trahan said that his team played the game with a “refuse to lose” mentality, instilled in the locker room by the team’s seniors.

The Cougars came away with a 72-67 victory and the school’s fourth vocational small school championship.

Nick Fringuelli led the team with 20 points, followed by Luke Meelia with 15 and Max Finney, who finished with 13.

“I am extremely proud of the heart and determination our team played with for four solid quarters,” said Trahan.

The celebration was short and sweet for the Cougars, as they have already turned their focus to the MIAA Tournament.

Old Colony will open the tournament at home on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. against Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School.

“It’s always nice to play at home,” said Trahan, who noted that Old Colony has not lost a single game at home this season. “If we play our game, I think we’ll be alright.”

Old Colony sits at 20-2 heading into the MIAA tournament.