Bulldogs Edge Taconic Boys in Defensive Battle
HOLYOKE, Mass. – The Taconic boys basketball team fell short in the Western Massachusetts Class B Finals, 57-51, against Springfield International Charter School.
It was a cagey start to the game with both teams digging in on defense early. SICS found some success against the Taconic zone with long range shooting.
SICS scored nine of its 16 points from beyond the arc and took a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Tayvon Sandifer, who went on to lead Taconic with 18 points, scored seven in the second quarter, helping to bring the Thunder back by controlling the tempo on the offensive end.
Taconic outscored SICS, 15-11 in the quarter and cut the deficit to three points going into the break.
Both teams continued to battle back and forth in the third quarter, but the size of SICS proved to be difficult getting second chance looks at the rim and multiple-and-one plays.
The length of SICS also impacted the Taconic offense with tough zone defense that made passing lanes tough to find. It was a tight game all the way till the end with SICS failing to really break the game open to double digits till the end.
Taconic did a good job of answering any run SICS had but could not bring the game close enough to really make a run and take the lead. They trailed for much of the game and in the end SICS proved to be too much to handle down the stretch.
Taconic (18-3) is the top seed in the state Division 5 tournament and awaits the winner of a play-in game between No. 33 Tahanto and No. 32 Lenox.