Pittsfield Puts Away West Springfield
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Kyle Cardoso posted a double-double to lead the Pittsfield boys basketball team to its second straight win on Friday.
Cardoso scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and passed out three assists in a 92-44 win over West Springfield.
“I think Kyle has been making a statement all year,” Pittsfield coach Jerome Edgerton said. “He’s been leading us. Now, you’re starting to see the leadership really step up – not just the basketball but the vocal leadership and really taking the season by the horns and saying, ‘You’re coming with us.”
Cardoso scored six points in a 10-3 run to open the game and finished with nine points in a 22-5 first-quarter for the Generals.
Samseedy Touray (13 points) then hit a 3-pointer and scored five points in a 7-1 spurt to open the second quarter and open up a 23-point lead for Pittsfield.
It looked like the Generals were going to run the Terriers out of the building and Edgerton was going to get his starters all the rest they needed heading into Saturday’s and Sunday’s Hoophall Invitational games in Pittsfield.
But the Terriers went on a run of their own, scoring nine in a row to make it 29-15 with a few minutes left in the half.
That brought the starters back off the bench for Pittsfield.
“That’s what I got on my team about,” Edgerton said. “I didn’t care what the scoreboard said. It’s about how we played on the court. And I felt like, as we went to our bench, they weren’t as ready to go in the first half. We had a spirited conversation, and they came out ready to play in the second half.”
The starters did most of the damage in the third quarter, when Cardoso added 10 more points, and Bri’Awn Thompson (12 points) hit a couple of 3-pointers.
Camden Zerbato (11 points) hit a free throw in the final minute of the quarter to push the lead to 66-29, and Pittsfield’s reserves took the reins from there.
Edgerton was pleased with the way his second unit performed in the fourth, when it outscored West Side, 26-14.
“It’s because they understand the expectation,” he said. “They understand the standard, regardless of who was on the court. And I don’t feel like we were ready to go in the first half. Those boys are way better than that. So I’m happy they got to display a little bit tonight.”
Sixth-man Quincy Abellie scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Pittsfield (6-4) likely will need some depth to get through the weekend. After playing a 7 p.m. game on Friday, it heads to Putnam High on Saturday for a 1:30 tip against Pawtucket, R.I’.s, Charles E. Shea High School. On Sunday afternoon, the Generals go to Springfield again for their second game in a four-team Hoophall bracket.
“We’re ready to go,” Edgerton said. “I’m excited. We’ve got challenges ahead of us. We understand what the challenge is ahead of us. It starts tomorrow. Actually, it starts tonight, and we’re going to prepare. We’re going to be ready to go.
“It is a short turnaround, but the thing about us is we practice every day long, so these boys are ready. We’re ready to go. We can’t wait to get there.”
Photos from this game to come.