McGuire, Blue Devils Top Hoosac Valley

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Sophomore Scott McGuire had a big game Thursday as Drury secures a comfortable 60-45 win over rival Hoosac Valley.

 

McGuire led all scorers with an 18-point game, grabbing 10 rebounds in an all around effort.

 

Point guard Reece Racette had 15 points, and Conor Clark added 11.

 

For Hoosac Valley (8-3), Vance Eugene led the way with 14 points, and both Izaha Stubbs and Nick Waterman chipped in with eight.

 

This was another classic Drury-Hoosac rivalry game between two teams who left it all out on the court. Both teams came out firing on all cylinders in a fast pace game that would make the average viewer tired just watching it. Players diving on the floor, taking charges, jumping out of bounds to save the bal. This game had it all.

 

At the end of the first quarter Hoosac had the early advantage, 14-12. Second quarter action saw Drury (9-3) start to really control the game with their full court pressure, forcing Hoosac in a pace they didn’t necessarily want to play. Midway through the second quarter, Drury went on a nice little run off the back of two 3-pointers from Reece Racette and JJ Middleton. Once Drury took the lead their was no looking back. They went into the break with a 29-22 lead. 

 

In the second half, it looked like the continuous pressure from Drury started to wear the Hurricanes down not only with turnovers, but with forcing Hoosac into contested shots. Conor Clark hit two big 3s in the third quarter to really extend the lead and put things out of reach for Hoosac. 

 

“That’s the game we have to play at home, I thought we didn’t score as well as we could have, but their defense is relentless,” Drury coach Jack Racette said.  "It’s a good win at home, you have to protect your home court. I thought Conor Clark had a huge game for us.”

 

That is exactly what Drury did. It took care of business early on in the game and was able to dictate the tempo throughout up until the end of the game. In the fourth quarter it was a little different style for Drury. With a comfortable lead, it was able to slow the game down from the quick pace they have been playing all night to run some sets and manage the clock” 

 

“As the games get bigger, you don’t want quick shots when you’re up eight or 10 with two minutes to go, It’s going to be competitive so we have to execute and space the floor,” Racette said. 

 

It has been a good week for Drury getting wins against Lee and Hoosac after two losses in as many matches before. It will look ahead to meeting Lee for the second time next Tuesday. 

 

The Hurricanes will look to get back into the win column on Saturday at Mahar.

 

Photos of this game here.