HATFIELD — There was no answer for Kevin Mendez for the Smith Academy boys basketball team.
In a 74-50 loss to the Green Wave on Tuesday night, the Falcons allowed Mendez to score 29 points and grab 18 rebounds.
Mendez scored inside and out, and his athleticism on defense also proved disruptive for the Falcons.
Every time Smith Academy (1-10, 0-9 Hampshire) gathered some momentum, Mendez would stomp it out and help Greenfield maintain its lead.
“He has killed us three years in a row,” Smith Academy coach Matt Nerneri said. “I think he averages 27 points a game against us.”
Smith Academy’s Brett Gratz scored 17 points, with three 3-pointers, and got to the basket several times for the Falcons.
Along with Gratz, Nick Leary found his rhythm from outside, making four 3-pointers for 12 points.
The young Falcons play well together, but lack the individual talent needed to stay with the better teams in the Hampshire league according to Zerneri.
“We don’t have the go-to scorer, yet,” Zerneri said. “To rely on to get a bucket when times get hard. There’s no self-creation. There are kids who are close to having that ability. Just not yet.”
Matt Bouley added 10 points for Smith Academy. The Falcons have three seniors on their roster.
After a tough first quarter on offense, Smith Academy got some stops on defense to start the second.
The defense led to offense, as Leary hit two 3-pointers and Gratz added another. After the 9-0 run, Greenfield called timeout.
“It all starts with defense,” Zerneri said. “The reason we hit shots in the second quarter was we got stops. It opened everything up.”
Out of the time out, Mendez hit a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to stop the run.
The Falcons started the game utilizing a triangle and two, where three players play a zone and two players play man.
The man defense focused on Mendez and Connor Joy (10 points), but it wasn’t effective, as Mendez scored 12 points in the first quarter.
“I thought it was good the first few minutes,” Zerneri said. “But we couldn’t gather the ball and they hit a few threes.”
Tyler Boissonneault’s two 3-pointers initiated a change in defense for Smith Academy.
Greenfield connected on five 3-pointers and led 25-8 after a quarter.
The Green Wave hit 10 3-pointers against Smith Academy, who had eight of its own.
Greenfield 74, Smith Academy 50
Greenfield (4-7, 4-4 Hampshire)
Larange 3-0-7,Boissonneault 3-0-8, Joy 4-2-10, Suhl 2-0-6, Avery 2-4-8, Phelps 2-0-6, Mendez 11-4-29 Totals 27-10-74
Smith Academy (1-10, 0-9)
Hession 0-0-0, C. Ferrara 0-1-1, Zigmont 2-2-4, Gratz 6-2-17, Lyons-Sosa 0-0-0, Leary 4-0-12, J. Ferrara 0-0-0, Woodward 1-0-2, Bouley 3-3-10, Bartlett 0-3-3, Leuschner 0-1-1 Totals 14-12-50
|
Greenfield |
25 |
21 |
19 |
9 |
—74 |
|
Smith Academy |
8 |
22 |
13 |
7 |
—50 |
3-Pointers—Greenfield 10 (Boissonneault 2, Mendez 3, Larange, Phelps 2, Suhl 2); Smith Academy 8 (Leary 4, Gratz 3, Bouley)
