BOSTON– It wasn’t always pretty, but the Gloucester boys basketball team got the job done.In a tough, defensive battle where points where every point on both ends was well earned, the 20th-seeded Fishermen hung on for a 42-37 win over No. 13 New Mission at the Reggie Lewis Center in the Division 3 Round of 32.With the win, Gloucester’s second straight this postseason, the No. 20 seed advances to the Division 3 Sweet 16 where another tough opponent awaits in No. 4 Cardinal Spellman (16-4) out of Brockton. The teams will meet at Cardinal Spellman, date and time TBA.According to Gloucester head coach Adam Philpott, whose team improves, the way his team took care of the ball was the difference in the game.”They played us tough out there trapping, but once we got into our half court offense we were alright,” he said. “We knew if we kept them out of transition we would be in good shape. I’m just super proud of our guys, it was a hard fought, back-and-forth game but they kept their composure.”It was a close game throughout with each team holding a lead of no more than four points. The Fishermen overcame a very slow start after falling behind 10-6 after one quarter. Turnovers hurt early, but the visiting No. 20 seed was able to get back on track in the second quarter and went into halftime tied at 19. After a back-and-forth third the teams went into the fourth still tied, 30-30The final quarter, however, belonged to the Fishermen, who were clutch down the stretch and outscored the host Titans 12-7 to pick up the win. Gloucester had trouble getting the ball inside early, but were eventually able to get it to Nate Montagnino, who scored a game-high 26 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Montagnino carried the Fishermen offensively with 22 of the team’s first 30 points through three quarters.Only two other players scored for Gloucester with Adam Borowick scoring 11 including six clutch points in the fourth quarter. Charlie Amero added five points. Jamari Toney-Simmons led the way for New Mission (12-8) with 11 points, Lawrence Davis added 10.Division 3 Round of 32No. 20 Gloucester 42, No. 13 New Mission 37at Reggie Lewis Center, BostonGloucester 6;13;11;12 |42New Mission 10;9;11;7 |37G: Nate Montagnino 8-10-26, Adam Borowick 4-2-11, Charlie Amero 2-0-5.NM: Jamari Toney-Simmons 3-5-11, Lawrence Davis 4-2-10, Joseph Jackson 1-2-4, Malik Adamson 2-0-4, Daniel Romelous Pierre 2-0-4, Musa Fofana 0-2-2, Quamee Lott 1-0-23-Pointers: G, Borowick, Amero. NM; none.Halftime: 19-19.Records: G, 12-10; NM, 12-8.
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