NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Drury boys basketball team Friday let one slip away as Southwick won it at the buzzer, 62-61.
It was a tough loss for the Blue Devils after leading the whole game only to be defeated with the last shot of the game. Just days after qualifying for the Division 5 State Tournament, Drury (10-3) looked to keep the 10-game win streak going and after a solid opening half it looked like that winning trend would continue.
Jorge Bond led the way with 24 points including six triples that really helped get Drury going in the first half. Dante Dillard finished with 13 points and Connor Hinkell had eight.
Drury handled the Southwick zone well with great ball movement that got their offense going from both deep and inside. They knocked down seven of their nine 3-point tries in the first half combined with their full court pressure it looked like it was going to be a long night for Southwick.
Drury widened the gap on multiple occasions but couldn’t deliver that knock out punch. It ended up closing the first quarter with a high scoring, 17-13, lead, which they carried into the second. They outscored Southwick in both quarters of the first half and took an eight-point lead into the break.
The big difference came when Southwick finally got out of their zone and started causing Drury some trouble on the defensive end with man-toman pressure. The two teams canceled each other out in the third quarter which left Southwick with an uphill battle in the fourth. Southwick held Drury to just eight points in the fourth and slowly chipped away at their deficit, finally cutting it to a four point game with just over three minutes left to play.
After a big offensive rebound by Sammy Moorman to make it a six-point game, the Rams answered right back with an and-one of their own keeping them with one possession with two minutes to go. Southwick later got a chance to take the lead but missed a layup with 44 seconds left giving Drury a chance to make it a three-point game.
The Drury offense stalled out again and left Southwick with an inbounds play with 10.5 seconds left on the clock. Southwick inbounded the ball and went right to the rim, getting the game winner with next to no time for Drury to try and score the other way.
This will be one Drury will be quick to forget as they go on the road to face Greenfield Monday night, a team they will look to get revenge on after losing at the beginning of the season.
