Braves come back to beat Lenox

NORTH ADAMS – In raising almost $10,000 in the fight against cancer, the entire Berkshire County basketball community descended on the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) campus last Saturday for an all-day basketball showcase featuring every county team.

State finalist St. Joe’s took on Pittsfield in the marquee match-up of the Coaches vs. Cancer High School Basketball Classic. The Crusaders’ Tank Roberson and Michael Carpenter got the best of Pittsfield, 76-59.

Lenox then followed with another good match-up against Taconic, in one of the closer battles of the afternoon.

The Millionaires, who were up against the speed of the Braves’ backcourt as Trayvon Sims and Shaquille Ardrey torched Lenox from both the outside and inside, as well as in the open court, won 72-66.

Ardrey finished with a game-high 35 points, while Sims added 16.

“We decided to give up the three and try to congest the paint,” said Lenox Head Coach Scott Sibley. “We figured the percentages were higher in the paint – they started pretty hot [outside] so we changed it up.”

Ardrey hit a pair of threes to put Taconic up 9-7 early, yet Lenox battled back, as they began to pressure the outside shot and built a 18-12 lead themselves, thanks to Andrew Vickery, who hit an off-balance three at the end of the first quarter.

Lenox’s lead was short-lived, as Taconic went on a run after the Millionaires’ 23-12 lead at the start of the second.

Taconic’s Ardrey hit a three to cut the lead to 23-20, and Mike Taylor added a rebound and put back, which tied it at 25-25.

Ardrey and Vickery (17 points) traded baskets before Taconic went ahead 34-32 at the end of the first half.

“We gave it all we had, just when it came down to the end, we got a little sloppy and we got out of our rhythm,” Sibley said.

The Millionaires were plagued by a poor third quarter, as they had four turnovers and two missed layups in a stretch of about three minutes that swung the momentum in the Braves’ direction, helping Taconic carry a 49-38 lead.

Vickery’s layup ended the Millionaires’ drought at 49-40, as Lenox managed to get back in the game with some big post play underneath from Jared Tuttle (14 points).

Trailing 52-45 after three, Lenox battled back to 52-50 with 7:13 left in the game as Vickery added two free throws and a eight-footer just outside the lane, followed by Bailey Patella’s basket, which made it a two-point game.

Taconic then turned on the jets as they easily broke down Lenox’s pressure defense the rest of the way to score some easy transition baskets to cruise to the 72-66 win.

“We came back from a 12-point lead, but the turnovers got us,” Sibley said. “We had a tremendous amount against Greylock, and we had seven in the first half [tonight], which is great – figured if we had seven in the second half we’d be in good shape.”

For the Millionaires, the leadership of Vickery, as in every sport he plays, almost led to another Lenox victory against Taconic. Vickery’s points, assists and defense are the catalyst for this young Millionaires team, which started freshman Patella and sophomore Ben Herrick in the backcourt.

“Vick is hard-working – he gives 100 percent in practice and 100 percent in every game,” Sibley said. “He works hard and is a good communicator  – he is a good leader and good to have on our team.”

Overall, it was a successful day for every Berkshire County team as cancer research gathered more funding and support.

“The tournament itself is great – obviously you come up here to win – we came up and played hard, but it’s more what the tournament is about,” Sibley concluded.

Posted by Tim Davis on January 10, 2013. Filed under High School Sports,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry