Drury Boys Outlast Hoosac Valley
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There are very few things certain in life: Death, taxes, and a high intensity Drury-Hoosac matchup are just a few you can count on.
Just like the first time these two met, you could expect two teams hustling and laying everything on the line to get the win, and just like the first meeting this winter, Drury came out on top.
Drury’s second half effort pushed it passed Hoosac Valley, 65-52, Friday night in Bucky Bullett Gymnasium.
Hayden Bird lead the Blue Devils (16-2) in scoring with 18 points.
Reece Racette contributed with 15, and Connor Meehan had a big second half with three 3-pointers giving him nine on the night.
For Hoosac Valley (11-7), Keagan McGrath led the way with 16 and Tyler Lancia added nine.
The Blue Devils came out of the gates fired up with the home crowd on their side. They started the game on a 7-0 run, forcing Hoosac into a couple early timeouts. Later in the first quarter, Hoosac was able to settle into the game and knock some shots down closing the quarter tied up at 13-13.
Hoosac then came out in the second quarter looking to push the tempo on Drury and get easy looks at the rim. They were able to control the glass on both ends of the floor and turn them into easy points. Hoosac was able to get to the line often in the second quarter as well scoring seven of their 20 second quarter points. Hoosac finished the half off on 6-0 run, giving them the 33-25 lead.
“The second quarter they put it to us, they outscored us, 20-12,” Drury coach Jack Racette said. “That was the halftime lead. They killed us on the boards, McGrath had some easy ones and we turned the ball over.”
Fortunately for the Blue Devils, you play two halves of basketball, and they made the most out of the second. The run all started with senior captain Connor Meehan knocking down two timely 3-pointers to help spark the offense. With the crowd getting involved, the Blue Devils started to pick things up defensively as well. Drury would then go on a 20-0 run at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth to regain the lead and they would not look back.
“Things weren’t going our way in the first half,” Meehan said. “We always say after 16 minutes we have to make adjustments. We went down made the adjustments and stayed focused. We have a lot of guys that have been here before, so we just had to stay mentally tough. Second half guys hit me with some passes and I knocked down some shots, that opened up the floor and we got a lot of defensive stops.”
Drury continued to dominate the game, holding Hoosac to only one point until the 1-minute mark in the game. With Drury looking to clinch a top seed in Western Mass this was a big comeback win that will carry some momentum into their next game.
“The games just get bigger as the season goes on,” Jack Racette said. “It gives you tournament type atmosphere. You are always in the game, we have a lot of scoring power and when you get stops you can make up points quickly. I think that’s what happened tonight.”
Drury will go on the road to play Lee Tuesday, while Hoosac will look to bounce back after this tough loss against Drury and face Wahconah Thursday night.