CHESHIRE, Mass. -- Hoosac Valley freshman Frank Field scored 24 points -- including 19 in the second half -- to lead the Hurricanes to a 53-45, come-from-behind boys basketball win over Drury on Saturday evening.
“I’ve just got to thank my team for always looking at me even though I’m a freshman,” Field said. “They’ve always got my eye on me, and I’m just happy they treat me like one of them.”
From Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson’s vantage point, the Hurricanes could have had their eyes on Field a little bit sooner.
“That’s been missing a little bit, and some of that’s on me,” Robinson said. “We don’t get him good looks in some instances. Today, we were texting this morning, and I told him I’m going to make it a point that we look for him more.
“I didn’t think Carson [Meczywor] was really looking for [Field] a couple of times, and I saw him wide open. So I took Carson out and said, ‘If you don’t find that kid and get him the ball, you’ll be here the rest of the night.’ He got the message. And I thought Logan Davis did a nice job finding him off those diagonals, and Frank did a pretty good job.”
Meczywor scored six points, including two clutch free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach. Davis scored 15 for the Hurricanes (12-2), who won their fifth straight and handed Drury its first loss of the winter.
The Blue Devils (2-1) started their season late after waiting for clearance from their school committee to begin play in the pandemic.
And Drury started Saturday’s game firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a seven-point lead late in the first half.
Zach Davignon scored with an assist from Jeff Adams to give Drury a 25-24 lead and start an 8-0 run.
On the Blue Devils’ next two possessions, Ben Moulton (team-high 11) and Davignon connected from behind the 3-point arc to make it 31-24.
Sean Kastner scored in the post to break the run, but Drury went to half-time with a five-point lead.
It grew to nine points early in the third thanks to free throws from Davignon and Tim Brazeau (eight points, 12 rebounds), but Hoosac Valley answered with an 11-4 run to the end of the quarter.
Field provided the bulk of the offense, knocking down three 3-pointers in the quarter.
“He’s got an inside-out game,” Robinson said of Field, who finished with nine rebounds. “He reminds me a little of Robbie Burke. I don’t want to give him a big head, but he reminds me of that type of guy. He can go inside. He can go outside. He’s a good ballplayer.”
Field knocked down a jumper from the baseline to start the fourth quarter, and after a turnover at the other end, Meczywor scored in transition to give Hoosac Valley the lead for good, 41-39.
A 7-0 run pushed that lead to nine points with about 2:30 left. First Kastner converted in the post, and then Field scored on back-to-back trips, a bucket on the blocks and a corner three on a feed from Davis to make it 50-41.
Drury, which managed just 14 points in the second half, never got closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Blue Devils are right back at it on Monday, going to Mount Everett for the first of five games in six nights.
One of those games is Friday, when the Hurricanes travel to North Adams to face the Blue Devils in part two of their annual grudge match.
“It was great,” Field said of his first experience with the rivalry on the varsity. “It feels different than any other game. It has a different feeling. Even though there weren’t any fans, there’s just a different intensity and different energy.”
The Hurricanes take a five-game winning streak into Monday’s home game against reigning Massachusetts Division 2 State Co-Champion Taconic.
