Hoosac's Defense Shuts Down Rival Drury
CHESHIRE -- There was a time not so long ago that a Drury-Hoosac Valley boys' basketball game meant two of the top teams in all of Western Massachusetts were about to do battle. With both the Blue Devils and Hurricanes making deep runs into the postseason the past three years, the North County rivalry game has meant more than just bragging rights. With playoff dates almost assured because of the abundance of talent on each squad, the game usually was meant to settle who would have the edge in winning the North Division or who would earn a higher seed in the Western Mass. tournament.The first meeting in the 2010-11 season between Drury and Hoosac was quite different than most of their games over the past three years, however. This time around both teams were hovering around the .500 mark coming in, putting a little extra importance on the outcome of the game. The winner could right the ship and get back onto the winning track, while the loser would be stuck at or around .500 at the halfway point, facing a long road ahead in order to make the playoffs.
With an effective and relentless full-court press, it was the Hurricanes who stymied the Blue Devils 52-36 at home on Monday night, sending Jack Racette's squad to its third straight defeat and evening its overall record to 5-5. Hoosac, which has only played one other home game this season, improved its mark to 6-5, picking up a much-needed win even with senior point guard Nick Aitken missing his second straight game due to illness.
After a tightly contested first quarter in which both teams netted seven points, the Hurricanes began imposing their will by harassing the visitors with their swarming full-court pressure. Drury had jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead thanks to back-to-back buckets by sophomore forward Alex Bush, but the 'Canes slowly chipped away and took the lead as a result of 17 first-half turnovers by the Blue Devils.
"We've been pressing all along," Robinson said of his team's defensive strategy this season. "We have a lot of depth, so we just want to try and wear teams down a little bit. I thought no doubt that the press bothered them, and I'm sure it wore them down a little bit too. They began to figure it out a little bit and got some easy baskets but for the most part, I thought we won that battle tonight."
Although they were turning the ball on a regular basis, Hoosac's offense was unable to take advantage until late in the first half. Junior forward Slater Aubin took control for the 'Canes, first finishing off a fastbreak basket and then nailing a 3-pointer from the left wing. He then got to the foul line, making 3 out of 4 free-throw attempts to give the hosts a 21-16 lead at the break.
"In an offensively challenged game, anyone that can score eight points is a hero," Robinson said of Aubin's efforts in the second quarter. "We made it more of a requirement that we wanted to get the ball inside in the second half. We thought Slater was going to be the guy because Tyler [Benoit] was guarding Andrew [Harmon]. We made it an effort to get Slater the ball a couple of times and once we did, he started getting a little excited and started hitting the offensive glass."
Aubin ended up playing a big role in the Hurricanes' ability to stretch a five-point halftime lead into an 11-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. He ended up making two more baskets in the third quarter and scoring off an offensive rebound just after the fourth frame began, giving Hoosac all the cushion it would need to stave off a struggling Drury squad. The Blue Devils didn't do themselves any favors in the third quarter either, missing four foul shots that would have kept the hosts within striking distance.
Racette's club did a better job of cutting down its turnovers in the second half, but by that time the damage had already been done. Drury was able to set up its offense on a consistent basis and when it did break the press, the Blue Devils weren't left with much time on the shot clock to find a quality shot.
"We knew they were going to press us, but once you break the press you have to attack it," Racette said. "When you break the press, you create 3 on 2s, but we can't score on 3 of 2s because we don't have scorers. We had 3 on 2s and we were turning the ball over, throwing passes out of bounds. They were just making us play faster."
The offense has been a struggling point for Drury in the last three games, all of which turned out to be losses. Benoit, a senior forward, who has averaged over 15 points a game this season, was held to just 10 points against the Hurricanes, while the Devils' No. 2 and 3 scoring threats, Robert Jutras and Nolan Bird, combined to score just two points combined. Racette knew the offense would be an issue early in the season, but it's certainly hit a wall in the past three games in which Drury has scored an average of 37 points a game against Lenox, Lee and Hoosac Valley.
"We had seven days to prepare, four days of practice all about handling pressure and ball toughness, and we didn't do it tonight," Racette said. "When we did break the press, we got easy looks and didn't make them. We're just not putting the ball in the basket [in the last three games]. We talk about it. We don't hold any punches. We're scoring 42 points a game, and you can't win high school basketball games in the 40s. We have to practice harder, we have to get the ball in open areas and hopefully we get some shots.
"Again if you hold a team to close to 50 points, you have to have a chance to win going down the wire. We didn't even get ourselves a chance to win tonight."
Aubin ended up leading all scorers with 14 points and five rebounds, while Hoosac senior Nate Alibozek chipped in with 13 points, going 7 of 8 from the foul line, to go along with three boards and three steals. Ethan Harmon also did a nice job off of the bench for Robinson, scoring eight points, pulling down five boards and blocking three shots.
Drury next plays at Monument Mountain at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night.