Drury Boys Are Kings of the North
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Scott McGuire scored 19 points, including 17 in the second half, as the Drury boys basketball team Tuesday came from behind to beat Hoosac Valley, 62-56, and clinch the Berkshire County North Division Championship.
Reece Racette and Chad Lawrence helped out with 12 points each for Drury, which outscored the Hurricanes, 26-13, in the fourth quarter to overcome a seven-point deficit.
For Hoosac Valley (9-9), Izaha Stubbs scored a game-high 21 points, while Vance Eugene added nine as he and four teammates were honored on Senior Night.
It was a tale of two halves between these two bitter rivals as Hoosac Valley threw the first punch. The Hurricanes, riding the high of home court advantage looked like the better team, forcing turnover and getting timely hoops to keep the crowd pumped up. They came out with a box-and-one defense to try and keep Scott MaGuire in check and for the first half they accomplished that goal. They held him to just two points and really frustrated the Blue Devils offense. Drury (14-3) trailed, 28-22, at the break.
Second half action got a little more chippy between the two teams, including plenty of fouls on both sides. Both Racette and MaGuire got in early foul trouble that saw them on the bench for most of the third quarter. This is was the type of game Hoosac was looking to play if it was going to contain the Blue Devils.
“We showed we were a family tonight, We picked up guys that were in foul trouble, Ryan Dubie came in and knocked down a three, Cove Massey is starting to play and Obilio Rodriguez.” Drury coach Jack Racette said. "That’s what families do: They stay together. And when times were tough, we weren’t really panicking.
Panicked they weren’t as they stormed out of the gates early in the fourth quarter with a quick 7-0 run in less than a minute to tie the game up at 43 apiece. The teams fought back-and-forth to gain the lead on multiple occasions late in the fourth. The first big swing came off of a 3-pointer by Chad Lawrence to give Drury a 50-49 lead. The lead flipped a few more times, but a couple more timely 3 from Lawrence helped the Blue Devils see this one out.
“Chad Lawrence was probably 0-for-7 and then knocks down three huge 3s for us, that’s what shooters do,” coach Racette said.
Another big factor in Drury turning things around in the second half was McGuire scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“They were physical with Scott early,” Racette said. “But we made some adjustments to get him in different spots, and once he got the ball he was able to go to work.”
With less than 30 seconds left, Drury stole a long pass from Hoosac to gain control up two points and sank free throws to seal the game.
With the win, Drury clinched the North, a division that has primarily been dominated by Taconic and Pittsfield.
“Ultimately, we want to be playing on March 10th for the biggest game of the year, but I’m not sure the last time anyone has won the North besides Taconic and Pittsfield, so it’s a great win for us.” Racette said.
Drury will host Belchertown on Friday and look to keep its seven-game win streak going.
Hoosac travels to Taconic on Friday.