Drury Boys Down Pittsfield
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Scott McGuire Jr. and Reece Racette combined for 39 points in Drury’s 65-47 win over Pittsfield on Friday night at Bucky Bullett Gymnasium.
But that’s not news. The pair averages 26 and 17 points, respectively.
The big story for the Blue Devils was Max Daugherty, who scored eight points in the first half and 10 in the game as Drury won its sixth straight and improved to 9-1 at the half-way point of the season.
“Everybody knows we have two scorers, but we have to distribute the ball,” Drury coach Jack Racette said. “Max Daugherty had a huge game for us tonight, and that’s going to be the difference.
“We’ve been working at it, making sure we get quality shots. I thought we moved the ball well. They’re a tough team. [The Generals] play hard.”
But the Generals did not do a good enough job executing the defensive plan, especially early on as Drury jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the first quarter.
“We did a poor job in our triangle and two containing the rest of the guys,” Pittsfield coach Brandon Mauer said. “We kind of got flat right off the bat with that triangle and two. We didn’t really cover the other guys, and that allowed [Daugherty] to get going.
“And when he got going, that forced us out of our triangle and two and things got tough.”
Daugherty scored Drury’s first six points, converting assists from McGuire and Racette and driving the lane to break the game’s last tie and make it 6-4.
The Blue Devils used an 8-0 run late in the quarter to take a nine-point lead. First, Daugherty set up freshman Tim Brazeau. Then Racette drove the lane and got to the line, where he converted both to make it 15-10. McGuire (game-high 21) scored in the paint, and Racette scored in transition to cap the run.
Drury extended its lead in a second quarter highlighted by Racette taking two charges on the defensive end.
In the third, McGuire scored in transition to give Drury its biggest lead of the night, 45-25.
A conventional three-point play by Pittsfield’s Donte Cruz (team-high 16) on the first possession of the fourth quarter got the Generals within 12 at 48-36, but Drury scored the next seven to go up by 19 when Racette set up McGuire for a basket with 5 minutes, 29 seconds left to play.
Pittsfield (7-3), which saw a five-game winning streak come to an end on Friday hosts Hoosac Valley on Monday.
Drury (9-1) hosts Wahconah on Monday, and don’t even think about asking Jack Racette to talk about that Jan. 29 rematch with Taconic, the only team to beat the Blue Devils this season.
“We’re a game at a time,” he said. “We really are. I know everybody says it, but we really do. Tonight was a good win for us. We have Wahconah coming here on Monday, and then we have seven days off before we go to Monument.
“We’re into the grind of the season. We have to get better. Tonight we showed it with Daugherty scoring and Tim Brazeau, the freshman, playing a little better. Those are the guys who are going to take us where we want to be at the end of the year.
“Your ‘usuals’ are going to get theirs, they really are. It’s the other guys who are going to make us a good team.”