Easthampton Ends Drury Boys' Run in Tourney

EASTHAMPTON, Mass — Zach Crisafulli scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Easthampton Eagles to a 80-54 win over Drury High School Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 tournament.

Raphael Coleman added 17 while Ish Akanour chipped in with 15.

Quarter-final action kicked off in entertaining fashion as both teams played high tempo basketball early on. Easthampton (19-2), was able to get to the rim early which set-up their full court pressure. Drury was able to counter with some transitions points of their own.

Late in the second quarter Easthampton was able to go on a nice run with transition baskets pushing the score to 24-17. Both teams traded baskets before the Eagles closed the half on a big 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving them a 37-25 lead at the break. 

“We knew they were going to get out and run, they beat us up pretty good,” Drury coach Jack Racette said. “We are young. It was a good experience for our team.”

For Drury (12-10), Hayden Bird lead the team with 19, and Connor Meehan chipped in with 13. 

After a physical and fast paced first half the second started in similar fashion. Easthampton came out the gates strong as they continued to push the ball and get easy points of transition. The game got a little chippy on both ends resulting in 25 Free throws combined. Easthampton really started to pull away as they took a 56-39 lead into the fourth quarter. The game was pretty much over at that point leading to both teams going to their bench to get some younger players experience. 

“We had a huge win over Renaissance at our place, and to get this far after losing eight in a row, I give my kids a lot of respect,” Racette said. “They played hard and we’ll get after it in the off-season. We’ll make some noise in the next two years I guarantee it.”

Drury will return their top three scorers including starting point guard Reece Racette.

Easthampton will move on to the semi-finals at Curry Hicks Cage against Mount Greylock, a 52-45 winner over Palmer in the quarters on Friday.