NORTH ADAMS — Taking on Drury, the defending WMass Div. 4 champion, the Turners Falls boys basketball team knew it had to be perfect to pull off a quarterfinal upset and advance to the Cage.
At halftime, the Thunder were right on the Blue Devils heals, trailing 30-29. In the second half, however, Drury senior Scott McGuire asserted himself, coming up with big play after big play on both ends of the floor to put the Blue Devils up by double digits in the fourth quarter.
Turners never quit, but were never able to get it close enough late, ultimately falling, 66-57.
“They were physical,” Thunder Anthony Peterson said. “They were the most physical team we’ve played. They’re a good team, they’ll probably win Western Mass. They’re the best team around here. We played with them so I’m proud of that. It was a great season. We didn’t get to where we wanted but I’m proud of this team.”
Chace Novak finished with 17 points for the Turners (11-11), Peterson added 14 points and Marcus Sanders had 10 points in the loss.
McGuire finished with 21 points and multiple blocks and steals on the defensive end for Drury (14-7) while freshman Louis Guillotte scored 20 points to help lead the Blue Devils to the semifinals, where they’ll face off against Hopkins Academy.
“There’s no question I think the better team won,” Thunder coach Gary Mullins said. “I thought we made them play the whole game and that was the only consolation I have right now. It’s still a loss. I wanted the kids to compete and they did and I’m proud of that.”
The physical, aggressiveness Drury played with throughout the game was something Turners was forced to adjust to. The Blue Devils pressed from start to finish, attacking both the offensive and defensive glass hard and made the Thunder work hard for everything they got on the offensive end of the floor.
As a result, Drury got to the line multiple times in the second half, with Guillotte and McGuire converting a series of 3-point plays to put the Blue Devils ahead.
“On both ends of the floor, they were very physical,” Mullins said. “We’re not used to that contact. I’m not saying the referees, it’s just a different style of play than we’re used to. The referees let it happen so it took us a while. They’re talented. They have some athletes. If we experienced more of this physicalness during the season, you’re more prepared for it.”
The first half of the game saw both teams go on a series of runs. Turners threw the first punch of the game, opening up a 14-2 lead late in the first quarter with Novak draining a 3-pointer and getting to the rim for two, Peterson knocking home two 3’s and Jaden Whiting swishing a 3.
Drury swarmed back, scoring the final eight points of the quarter to cut the Thunder lead to 14-10 after eight minutes. The Blue Devils kept the pressure up, scoring the first five points of the second quarter to take a 15-14 lead.
Turners then threw another punch, going on a 9-0 run with buckets from Sanders, Novak, Jon Fritz and Brendan Driscoll to take a 23-17 lead midway through the quarter, but Drury answered with an 8-0 run of their own, ultimately taking a 30-29 lead into the half.
“We shot the lights out early so that kept us in the game,” Mullins said. “There was a little optimism there.”
The two teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter, but with the Blue Devils holding a 42-41 lead, Guillotte drained a three, then got to the rim for an easy two. A score and a free throw followed by McGuire put Drury up 50-43 to close out the quarter. Sanders got to the lane for a score at the rim to cut the Blue Devil lead to seven, 50-43, with one quarter to play.
To open the final slate, Drury went on a 9-2 run to go up 59-45, taking full control of the game.
“Later in the ball game when they went up seven, eight, nine, 10, I thought ‘uh oh,’” Mullins said. “We came in and battled. We passed the ball around and got some easy hoops. Real nice basketball for us. We got production on the floor and we started to play. I couldn’t ask for more from our kids.”
With under three minutes to play, the Thunder went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 63-54, but McGuire answered with a score and a free throw to ruin any hope of a comeback.
“It’s tough,” Peterson said. “You want to end the year on a W. If you don’t, it’s disappointing no matter what.”