BArT Charter Basketball Advances to League Semi-Final
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Sawyer Moser Monday scored 20 points to lead the Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School basketball team to a 58-40 win over Hadley's Hartsbrook School in the River Valley Athletic League tournament.
The Wolf Pack used a 15-2 run in the first quarter to take control of the game, and the margin never dipped below 12 points the rest of the way.
Corey Lynch scored 15, and Matt Lizzo scored 11 for BArT in a game played at the Armory. Ivan Chen added seven points in a game that doubled as Senior Day for BArT, which saw its regular season finale canceled due to weather.
BArT coach Rob Daugherty said that his team made the most of its facility at the Adams school to get ready for moments like Friday.
“When they run the offense and pass the ball like we’ve been practicing on the half court – which is actually a good way to practice because you don’t have any options – they’re really, really powerful,” Daugherty said.
And as good as BArT looked in the half court, it also showed on Friday that it can get out and run when it has the opportunity.
“The transition game was a challenge when we played [top-seeded Dublin and Eagle Hill],” Daugherty said. “We’d spot them a few points, like 10 points because we just didn’t know. I think today was a good warm up to get back faster and play full court and all that.”
BArT’s running game played a role early with transition buckets by Lizzo and Moser at either end of the decisive run.
Moser’s fast break basket with about a minute left in the quarter gave the Wolf Pack a 21-4 lead.
That lead was largely fueled by Lynch, who scored 13 points in the quarter.
Hartsbrook kept pace with BArT from there, but the Wolf Pack reserves never let the visitors put a serious dent in the lead.
The No. 6 seed cut it to 12 points at half-time, but BArT opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run.
First, Moser scored in transition. Then Lynch put back an offensive rebound. Finally, Moser scored with an assist from Chen to make it 40-22 two minutes into the second half.
It was a 13-point margin midway through the fourth quarter, but BArT closed on a 7-2 run with Lizzo providing all the offense, including one of the team’s four 3-pointers in the game.
Third-seeded BArT moves on to Wednesday’s semi-finals, likely at No. 2 Eagle Hill to play for a spot in Thursday’s league championship game.
“I told them, at certain points in the game, to play like we’re playing the next game,” Daugherty said. “Because that team’s another level higher.
“I was really happy. When they did what I asked, they looked really, really good. They worked the ball. They worked well together. I was really pleased with this win.
“We’ve got a challenge the next few days.”
