Big First-Half Run Propels Drury Past Mount Greylock
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Midway through the first quarter of Monday’s boys basketball game at Mount Greylock, the Drury boys had just a 6-5 lead.
Then, the floodgates opened.
The Blue Devils went on a 23-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters and never looked back in earning a 64-33 win over the Mounties.
Dante Dillard scored 15 points to lead four Blue Devils in double figures as Drury improved to 3-1 on the
young season.
young season.
For first-year Mount Greylock coach Tommy Verdell, the difference in Drury’s first half run was pretty clear.
“We threw it to the blue jerseys, and we were wearing white,” Verdell said. “To be honest with you, they didn’t even really start trapping on the sidelines and stuff.
“We know they have that in their package. But before that, they were just, like, up, and we’ve just got to try to make the right reads. … That’s why we try to practice at the pace that we do so that the game can become slower. And today, we didn’t do that and/or, I felt like we rushed a little bit.”
Drury repeatedly punished the Mounties for turnovers by converting at the other end of the floor.
Dillard ended the first quarter with a 3-pointer to give his team an 18-5 lead.
In the early stages of the second quarter, Drury stole the ball on three straight possessions and got layups from Dillard and Jorge Bond (14 points) to open a 21-point lead. Dillard scored his ninth point of the 23-0 run to make it 29-5 with 5 minutes, 31 seconds left in the half.
The Mounties got a 3-pointer and a bucket in the post from Ward Bianchi (team-high 10 points) in a spurt that got the margin down to 22 points, but Drury closed the half with four straight points from Sam Moorman (13 points) to lead, 37-11, at half-time.
Drury coach Jack Racette was happy to see his defense stifle the Mounties over the first 16 minutes of play.
“We’ve been talking about our pressure,” Racette said. “We’re in Game 4 now. We’ve got a lot of inexperienced guys, so we’re starting to really figure out where we’re trapping, where we’re getting our doubles and when we’re falling out of it, where we’re going to.
“It’s all stuff we’ve got to work on.”
Racette was less pleased with the third quarter, when Mount Greylock whittled a 26-point deficit down to just 20 with a minute left in the period.
Mount Greylock’s Brady Auger hit a 3-pointer, and Noah Kane-Smalls scored in transition with an assist
from Desmond Cobb midway through the quarter to make it 44-23.
from Desmond Cobb midway through the quarter to make it 44-23.
Moments later, Cobb scored in transition with help from Kane-Smalls, and Nolan Barnes knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 47-27.
“We can’t play to the scoreboard,” Racette said. “The score is irrelevant. We’re in bad places – picking our dribble up, not feeding the post, just taking quick shots because, ‘If they go in great. If they don’t, who cares?’
“It’s all about being disciplined. When you’re playing in the biggest game, you can’t do that stuff.”
Drury was able to right the ship and go on a 15-0 run to re-establish a 35-point margin with 5:30 left to play. Myles Beauchamp (13 points) hit one of his three 3-pointers during that stretch.
Although Mount Greylock was not able to sustain the momentum it got going in the third or get the score under 20, the Mounties did show a little of what they can be down the road.
“What happened was we represented ourselves the right way,” Verdell said. “I’ve never asked this team to do more than play like we practice. Because we practice at a certain level so that we can be ready for the games.
“They set a standard from Day 1 as to the energy and effort that they were going to show at every practice. So I’m just holding them to that standard, and, quite honestly, we didn’t play up to that standard.”
Mount Greylock (1-2) goes to Turners Falls on Thursday.
Drury (3-1) is at Mahar on Thursday.