AMHERST – A suffocating defensive effort sent the Easthampton boys basketball team to the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament finals Tuesday.
The Eagles had 16 steals in their 68-47 semifinal win over Mount Greylock at UMass’ Curry Hicks Cage.
Easthampton (20-2) plays the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between No. 1 Sabis (15-6) and No. 5 Hoosac Valley (13-9).
The finals will be Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Cage. The Eagles won their lone championship in 2003.
“We haven’t seen anything of this magnitude,” Easthampton coach Brian Miller said of the playoff atmosphere. “We just have to keep being us. We have to keep doing what we do. Pressuring and running. They are such a loose bunch. You might expect them to be nervous. Not this team.”
The Eagles lack size, so active hands are essential. Almost every one of those 16 steals led to an easy basket at the other end for Easthampton.
“We are a little short,” said Miller, whose team has only two players over 6 feet and no one taller than 6-foot-2. “We try to balance that with great ball pressure. We have five guys who can pressure the ball. That can nullify size.”
Raphael Coleman finished with 27 points for the Eagles.
“Our team has been doing great all season,” Coleman said. “I don’t think a lot of people thought we were going to make it this far. That’s what got us here. We wanted to show people that our size doesn’t matter.”
Coleman was often the recipient of outlet passes that led to points at the rim. The Eagles also got to the free-throw line effectively, making 27, including 10 by Coleman.
“That’s our plan,” Coleman said. “Since we have five guards, we have to pressure so the big men can’t get into the post. A lot of people thought we wouldn’t make it this far because of our height.”
Zach Crisafulli had 17 points for the Eagles, while Ish Akanour added 10 off the bench for Easthampton.
Sean McCormack had 16 points for the Mounties (17-8).
Easthampton led 28-25 at the half and slowly started to pull away after the break. The Eagles opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run. Coleman started the run with back-to-back baskets to open the quarter.
Sopie Pek punctuated the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 38-25.
Crisafulli’s effort on a play in the fourth quarter closed the Mounties out for good. Trying to break Easthampton’s press, the Mounties sent a pass to the middle of the floor. In midair, Crisafulli knocked the ball away. As it was going near the sideline, Crisafulli dove after it and in one motion passed the ball behind his back to Coleman.
Coleman was fouled and made both free throws to give the Eagles a 59-40 lead.
Hunter Leveille had three points and eight rebounds for the Eagles, while Shy Torres had four points and four steals.
Easthampton 68, Mount Greylock 47
Mount Greylock (17-8)
Foehl 5-2-12, Storie 2-0-4, McCormack 7-2-16, Z. Ronnow 3-0-7, A. Ronnow 1-5-8. Totals: 18-9-47
Easthampton (19-2)
Pek 1-1-4, Coleman 8-10-27, Torres 2-2-4, Crisafulli 6-5-17, Leveille 0-3-3, Akanour 2-6-10, Bara 1-0-3, Brown 0-0-0, Pelonis 0-0-0, Jenkins 0-0-0, Bragg 0-0-0. Totals. 20-26-68
|
Mt. Greylock |
12 |
13 |
12 |
12 |
— |
47 |
|
Easthampton |
12 |
16 |
18 |
22 |
— |
68 |
3-Pointers—Mt. Greylock 2 (Z. Ronnow, A. Ronnow); Easthampton 2 (Pek, Bara)
