Murphy, Fye Lead Taconic to Convincing Win
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Taconic boys basketball team did exactly what it had to do on Thursday night at the Boys & Girls Club: It ran up a big lead and then it ran out its second and third units to secure that lead.
And when all was said and done, Brett Murphy and Antwaun Fye had 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead Taconic to an 82-39 win over Lenox in the Pittsfield Hoop Club Holiday Classic.
With a talented roster that goes 15 players deep, Taconic coach Bill Heaphy has the job of making sure all those players see time on the floor this winter.
On Thursday, his starters made his job easy, going on a 20-0 run and taking a 29-4 lead after one quarter.
The starters did come back at the end of the second quarter and the start of the third, but Heaphy had the luxury of giving quality minutes to his reserves throughout the night.
“We really wanted to do that,” Heaphy said. “They work hard, just like the starters do, and a lot of them deserve more time than they get. So in a game like this, when we can get everybody to play, it’s great. The depth is going to help us.”
The lone sour note for Taconic (5-0) came in the first half when starter Devon Walker, who averages seven points per game, departed with an apparent foot injury. Heaphy said after the game he needed to find out more about the injury.
Otherwise, it was smooth sailing for the veteran-laden Taconic team against the young Millionaires (0-3).
After John Illingworth put back an offensive rebound to make it 4-2 with about three minutes gone, Taconic scored on nine of 10 possessions while forcing six turnovers out of its press to jump out to a 24-2 lead. Murphy scored seven points in the run, which ended with back-to-back transition baskets by Jack Cooney (11 points).
Shane Steinman led Lenox with 16 points; 11 of those came in the fourth quarter, when he knocked down three 3-pointers.
By then, the issue was all but decided thanks to an 18-7 third quarter that pushed Taconic’s lead to 62-47.
In the third, Murphy scored eight points and grabbed three of his team-high seven rebounds.
Taconic outrebounded Lenox by a margin of 50-29, with all but one of the 15 Taconic players recording at least one carom.
Taconic takes a little break for the holiday before resuming its season against St. Joseph on Wednesday night.
Lenox is home against Lee on Tuesday in the South County Tournament.