TURNERS FALLS — Colin Gould will have a tough time finding an encore the next time he takes the court for Franklin County Technical School.
One game after posting a career-best 42 points, Gould once again stole the headlines on Friday night as he registered the 1,000th point of his career during the Eagles’ 75-51 rout of Westfield Technical Academy in a Tri-County League boys’ basketball game.
The senior guard entered Friday’s game needing 11 points to hit the mark and the Tigers were looking to make life difficult early for him, as they focused much of their defense on stopping him.
Rather than force anything, Gould simply became a decoy, allowing other players on his team to knock down open looks early on. That allowed him some freedom later in the first quarter and he took advantage, scoring 10 points in the quarter.
He also chipped in a pretty assist in the final minute of the first quarter on a Corey Johnson basket that helped the Eagles take a 16-13 lead into the second.
“My plan was just to play like I usually do and let the offense come to me,” Gould explained.
Gould’s big moment came just over one minute into the second quarter and started in his own end when he grabbed a rebound following a Tigers’ miss. Gould, who is not a point guard and rarely brings the ball up the court, snared the rebound under his hoop and immediately looked to get out and run, beating most of the other players up the court. He never stopped his momentum from the time he took off and added a little extra when he hit the Tigers’ 3-point line, going to the hoop hard against a defender and laying the ball in while getting fouled.
“I just looked up the court and saw the opening and went,” Gould said of the play.
The basket gave Gould 1,001 points for his career and he immediately walked to the free throw line as if the bucket was no different than any of the hundreds he has scored. Before he took the free throw, a timeout was called on the court and a short celebration took place to honor the Eagles’ most recent 1,000-point scorer.
“It feels great even though it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Gould said of hitting the mark. “I’ve had the support of my teammates the entire time and have worked hard and it’s paid off.”
Making Gould’s milestone even more impressive is the fact that he scored 129 points his freshman year and then missed his entire sophomore season with an injury. He came back last season with 479 points, leaving him with 608 for his career, and had already scored 381 points this season coming into Friday’s game, leaving him 11 shy of the mark. He finished Friday’s game with 27 points and now has 1,016 for his career.
“To basically do it in two years, it doesn’t matter who you play, it’s awesome,” Franklin Tech coach Matt Llewelyn said. “It’s an individual thing that not too many players get to do. He’s also been fortunate enough to have players around him that allow him to do it.”
Gould admitted that hitting the mark and losing the game would not have been acceptable, so when the Eagles went on a 17-2 run in the second quarter (and wound up outscoring the Tigers, 23-7 in the frame) to open up a 39-19 lead at halftime, it only added to the ongoing celebration on the night.
While Gould led the Eagles’ offense, he wasn’t the only player putting on a show. Point guard Joel Farrick poured in 20 points, while Corey Johnson scored a career-high 19 points. Franklin Tech was limited to just six players on the night, only five of which were varsity regulars.
Vlad Biley led Westfield Tech with 18 points.
The Eagles also moved to within one win of qualifying for the Western Mass. Division IV tournament. They will look to clinch Monday night at home against St. Mary’s High School at 7.