Strong finish earned Scarlet Hawks another tourney bid

By Chris Villani

From the start of the season, Milford High boys basketball head coach Dana Olson had hoped his team would get the chance to play meaningful games in March. For the second year in a row, the Scarlet Hawks did just that. Milford knocked off Archbishop Williams and Taunton, both tournament teams, before beating Longmeadow in the first round.

“We are taking steps,” Olson said. “They are coming slower than I would like them to come, but the ship is pointing in the right direction.”

The Hawks have been led by two big-time scorers all season. 

Senior Andrew Rivera broke the program scoring record and averaged around 18 points per game. “He has a great impact,” Olson said. “Riv has played a lot of basketball, he plays for a high-end AAU program in the offseason. He has driven the bus, but we have a good supporting cast too.”

Another star for Milford this winter is Gus Coutinho, who is one of the best rebounders in the country. Coutinho put up a double-double in points and rebounds nearly every game and finished the regular season averaging 18 points and 17 rebounds per contest. Olson said he has been around basketball his entire life and he has never seen someone put up the kind of numbers Coutinho has. The senior finished the year 12th in the nation in rebounding despite being 6-foot-2, an average height for a high school forward.

“He just has a nose for finding the ball and attacking and getting the ball at its highest point on offensive and defensive rebounds,” Olson said. “He has good body control and long arms, which helps, but everyone knows the biggest thing for rebounding is effort. He has a motor that doesn’t stop.”

Senior Luca Testa has been a solid third option for MHS, averaging around nine points per game. Olson also had high praise for sophomore Matt DaSilva, who averaged eight points per game, and junior Riley Burns, a strong contributor off the bench for the Hawks.

Milford’s first-round victory earned the team a date with the top team in the state, Malden Catholic, in the round 16. Playing on this big stage is exactly where Olson wants to see his team.

“What an opportunity,” he said prior to the game. “We have an opportunity to really measure where we are as a program.” The coach noted what, no matter the result, the single game will not define the team or its season.

“It’s just another step in the progression of building this program,” he said.