Hoosac Valley Boys Run Past Mount Greylock

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Hoosac Valley boys basketball team Monday stormed out to a 15-2 lead and never looked back in a 64-42 win over Mount Greylock.

 

Carson Meczywor scored 26 points, and Frank Field had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

 

But the big difference was Hoosac Valley's defense, which forced 16 first-half turnovers that helped produce 10 transition baskets among 16 first-half field goals for the visitors.

 

"We played a good first half," Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson said. "I was really shocked because we hadn't practiced in eight days. I'm not making excuses, but we came and we did our best. And we did pretty well.

 

"Our pressure got to them early, and we got out running and made some easy baskets. And it fueled us, because that 3-2 zone they run is pretty tough to penetrate through."

 

Three transition baskets and three 3-pointers drove Hoosac Valley's opening run.

 

The Hurricanes' pressure defense forced Mount Gryelock to call three timeouts in the first quarter, which ended with Hoosac Valley on top by 10 points.

 

It was an 11-point game midway through the second before the Hurricanes closed the first half on a 14-3 run.

 

Field was at the center of that stretch. He started things off with a fast break basket assisted by Meczywor and ended it by putting back an offensive rebound in transition to make it 40-18 going into the locker room.

 

Field scored 12 of Hoosac Valley's 23 second-quarter points to break the game open.

 

"I don't know about the stats," Robinson said. "It's all just part of the game to me, part of the flow. But I think [assistant coach Mike Larabee] said going in at half-time that he had eight rebounds, four steals and 14 points, or whatever he had. But I yelled at him and said, 'That's not good enough.'

 

"[Rob] Burke would have had 25, 20 and five. [Field] wants to measure himself with the best. Well, the best was Robby, so you've got to go measure yourself with him."

 

Meczywor took the reins of the Hoosac Valley offense in the third quarter, scoring all 14 of the Hurricanes' points in the period to keep the lead above 20 points.

 

The good news for Mount Greylock is that it cut down on its turnovers, giving the ball away just eight times in the second half.

 

"I'll tip my cap to Hoosac," Mount Greylock coach Bob Thistle said. "Hoosac played hard. And they ran good, hard pressure that we had trouble with.

 

"The bottom line is we just didn't take care of the ball. Our No. 1 goal, all year long, is to limit turnovers, no turnovers. And our defensive goal is no second shots."

 

Mount Greylock rebounded better in the second half while also protecting the ball a little more. Chase Doye scored 11 of his team-high 20 points after half-time.

 

For Hoosac Valley, Joey McGovern and Caleb Harrington helped round out the offense with eight point and six points, respective.

 

The Hurricanes, who had not played a game in 10 days, won their fourth straight to improve to 6-1 this winter. They face rival Drury for the only time this season on Saturday night in Cheshire.

 

Mount Greylock (6-3) saw a six-game winning streak come to an end on Monday. the Mounties will look to get back on the right side of the scoreboard on Wednesday when they host Lee.

 

Thistle said games like Monday night are a measuring stick for his team.

 

"This was a good litmus test for us," he said. "We won some games, but we're not good enough -- now -- to make the run we want to in the tournament. That's what I told the kids: We're not trying to just get better this season. We're trying to make a deep run into the tournament.

 

"So you want play a team like Hoosac. They're in a different class. They're in Division 5. But well-coached and hard-nosed, so that's what we have to work on. If we take care of the ball, we can compete with anybody. But if we don't, it's going to be a long night."