Big Run Lifts Chicopee Boys Past Pittsfield in Opener
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Chicopee boys basketball team overcome a 13-point second-half deficit Saturday to be Pittsfield, 65-61, in the Pioneer Valley Tipoff Classic at the University of Massachusetts.
The Pacers went on a 20-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to erase a 50-37 deficit and take a 57-52 lead it never relinquished.
Jamil Rodriguez scored 23 points, including a dunk in transition during the decisive late run, and Nalan Ray scored 10 while grabbing 13 rebounds for Chicopee
Pittsfield got 14 points and five rebounds from Chase Racine. Tobias Gaulden-Wheeler scored 12, and Carter Mungin finished with eight points, a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Francis Mensah scored with an assist from Racine late in the third to give Pittsfield a 13-point margin.
But Chicopee's Rodriguez answered to make it an 11-point margin after three quarters.
The Pacers then came out on fire to start the fourth quarter.
Eight straight points from Chicopee prompted Pittsfield coach Mitch Scace to call timeout. Off the break, Da'Sean Brown drove the lane for a basket to stem the Pacers' momentum.
But they got it right back, running off 10 straight to go ahead by five.
Keanu Arce-Jackson got hot for Pittsfield from there, scoring seven of his 12 points in just more than a minute to get the Generals within three points on his 3-pointer to make it 62-59 with 20 seconds left.
On the Pacers' next possession, Zoel Diaz got to the line and converted both ends of a one-and-one with 12.9 seconds on the clock to make it 64-59.
Racine drove an open lane the next time down the floor for Pittsfield for a bucket to make it 64-61 with 4.9 seconds left. But the Generals had to foul coming out of a timeout, and Chicopee's Rodriguez made one of his two free throws to make it a four-point game with 3.4 seconds left.
A back-and-forth first half ended with an 11-4 spurt by Pittsfield to open up an eight-point lead at the break.
The Generals had some first-quarter momentum with a 7-0 run that started with a Carter Mungin basket in the post and ended with an and-one from Brown in transition to make it 11-8.
But Chicopee came right back to tie the game at 14-14 when Diego Aviles put back an offensive rebound.
The teams then traded baskets from there, leaving the Generals up, 21-20, midway through the second quarter.
Arce-Jackson connected from the top of the key to give the Generals a three-point lead and spark their run to half-time.
Tobias Gaulden-Wheeler hit a 3-pointer to make it 27-22 with about 2 minutes, 30 seconds left and hit another late to give Pittsfield the biggest lead of the half for either team as it went to the locker room with a 32-24 advantage.
Pittsfield (0-1) goes to Chicopee Comp on Tuesday.