Gloucester boys earn first tourney win since 2006

The Gloucester boys defeated visiting Melrose, 69-58, in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 2 North basketball tournament, the program’s first postseason victory since 2006.
The No.14 Fishermen proved cool under pressure in the fourth quarter, making 13 of their 14 free-throw attempts to offset an attempted rally from the No.19 Red Raiders.
?This was a great team win,” said Gloucester coach Bill Cahill, whose team will travel to Tewksbury on Friday for a first-round matchup with the third-seeded Redmen.
?We got contributions from everybody and made the most of our free throws down the stretch,” Cahill said. “The kids did absolutely everything I asked of them.”
Gloucester senior Andrew Muniz scored a game-high 28 points, including seven three-pointers. Sophomore Evan Mason (13 points) stepped up in a big way off the bench, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line.
Junior Alex Militello tacked on nine points to go along with eight assists while Dylan Aptt added eight points in the win.
For all of the strong offensive showings, it was the Fishermen?s defense that drew the praises of Cahill.?As an entire unit we did a terrific job at limiting their top two scorers who had to earn every point they scored,” Cahill said of Melrose?s tandem of Colby Andrews and Anthony Gilardi who combined for 33 points.