WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Mount Greylock boys basketball team’s season has had a recurring theme this winter.
When the Mounties hold teams to fewer than 60 points, they win. When they don’t, they lose.
And Mount Greylock has been doing a lot more of the former.
The Mounties Saturday forced Smith Academy to commit 23 turnovers in a 62-56 win in the Mountie Dome.
Chase Doyle scored 22 points, and Max McAlister and Jackson Powell added 12 apiece as Mount Greylock won its fourth straight and improved to 12-4 this winter.
As in all 12 of those wins, points were hard to come by for the opposition.
“What you want defensively is energy, and you want good communication so you can rotate,” Mount Greylock coach Bob Thistle said. “I thought the kids did those two things well.
“We got input from a lot of guys. Seven, eight guys worked really hard out there and contributed some things that are in the box score, and other guys contributed things that won’t show up in the box score.”
After beating the Falcons by six points just three days earlier, the Mounties trailed just once Saturday but could not really shake the visitors until late.
It was a four-point game at half-time after McAlister hit a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, and Powell matched him with eight.
Smith Academy scored the first five points of the third quarter to briefly lead, 31-30, on a 3-pointer by Wyatt Jeffress (16 points, 12 rebounds).
At the other end, Doyle matched Jeffress from behind the arc, and then the Mount Greylock defense took over.
Three straight steals led to transition baskets – two from Powell and one from Doyle – to make it 39-31 midway through the quarter.
The lead grew to 12 late in the third on a 3-pointer by McAlister as Mount Greylock outscored the Falcons, 21-14, in the frame.
It was 12 points again with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the game on a McAlister free throw, but Smith Academy scored the last six points to make it a six-point margin.
Both the Mounties and Falcons played on Friday night, making the 10:30 varsity start on Saturday a challenge.
“Both teams went through it,” Thistle said. “It’s just this crazy season where you’re trying to make up games at the end. We talked about it, but talk doesn’t always do it. We said: Whoever is most awake is going to win this game.”
Mount Greylock gets to sleep in on Sunday. On Monday evening, it goes back on the road to face Mahar before finishing the regular season at home against McCann Tech on Wednesday.
“You want to be playing your best ball in February,” Thistle said. “And I thought, offensively, that was the best game we played in terms of ball movement and guys not just cutting but sprinting. I think we’re headed in the right direction.
“It’s a couple of games still to go. These guys have some homework to do and some film work on Mahar. … But this is the fun part of the season. You want to be headed toward the tournament. First time ever in the state tournament. We’ve got work to do, but we’re excited.”
