LENOX — Lenox Memorial High School played an aggressive full-court pressure defense, using active hands to disrupt Franklin County Technical School throughout, leading to a 57-42 win Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division IV Boys’ Basketball Tournament.
Lenox’s pressure prevented Franklin Tech from establishing any rhythm on offense. The Eagles fell behind early and the Millionaires had an answer for every one of their scoring runs. The host pulled away by using its 23-15 turnover advantage to create scoring opportunities in transition.
“That was something we were working on a little in practice,” Lenox coach Scott Sibley said of his team’s pressure. “We switched up our traps and its kind of a work in progress. I do think it created some turnovers. … I give credit to Franklin Tech for not panicking and playing pretty strong with the ball.”
Colin Gould and Joel Farrick helped spark a 10-2 run to end the first half, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to 26-18. The teams continued to trade baskets, however, and the visitors never got closer than six points during the second half. Gould led Franklin Tech (18-6) with 16 points.
“It made it difficult to set up our offense,” Eagles coach Matt Llewelyn said of Lenox’s pressure. “A couple more ball fakes would’ve done [us better]. We didn’t a good job of getting the ball in the middle and that was our plan.”
Franklin Tech’s post player Zach Korpewski struggled against Lenox’s 6-foot-5 Tom Reynolds. Reynolds did a good job of boxing out Korpewski and grabbing away rebounds. Korpewski also had to deal with foul trouble, but he finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. When Korpewski was out of the game, the Eagles struggled even more to control the rebounds. Lenox used its skill on the glass to create second and third scoring chance, leading to open 3-pointers or uncontested drive to the lane.
“The defensive boards and the offensive boards were the key to this game,” Llewlyn said. “They got a lot of second-chance shots, even on their 3’s. We couldn’t convert around the hoop and they could. That’s what made the game a six, eight, 10-point game and we couldn’t catch up from there.”
Lenox’s Patrick Colvin led the way for the Millionaires. He made four 3-pointers, leading a game-high 24 points. He scored 12 of his 24 in the fourth quarter. Outside of Colvin, other Millionaires picked their spots to contribute on offense. Tom Hedges scored six of his 10 in the third, allowing his team to withstand Franklin’s 7-2 run to close the third quarter. Kevin Coakley added nine points and several rebounds as well.