AMHERST — The Hollywood script writers concocted quite the sequel Tuesday night.
The location and characters remained relatively unchanged, as did the sense of excruciating, gut-wrenching drama.
But as far as Pioneer Valley Regional School is concerned, this script did not have a happy ending.
One year removed from a heart-stopping, buzzer-beating victory in the WMass Division 4 semifinals, the second-seeded Panthers walked off the floor at Curry Hicks Cage on the campus of UMass with a far more sour taste in their mouths this time around. No. 3 Drury High School turned the tides of what has fast become an intense rivalry, outscoring Pioneer by an 11-7 margin in overtime to punch its first ticket to the WMass title game in a decade. The Blue Devils stormed back for a 76-72 victory, writing another epic chapter in the torrid tale between the two schools from different counties.
“I’m very proud of this team,” began Pioneer head coach Scott Thayer. “When we got on the bus to come here today, I was thinking about something to try and say. I told them, ‘The first Monday after Thanksgiving, if somebody said you’d be 19-3 and playing in the semifinals against Drury after what happened last year with all the turnover on the roster, we would’ve taken it. Right now it hurts, and it’s disappointing, but days will pass and you will understand what you did and you should be proud of it.’”
Like last year’s thriller, this one was not for the faint of heart. Trailing 74-67 with less than a minute remaining in overtime, the Panthers seemed destined for a postseason exit.
But the defending champions weren’t done.
Senior Garrett Cote, the hero of last year’s victory who finished with a team-high 29 points to go with nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals, sank a pair of free throws with 54 seconds remaining. After Pioneer forced a Drury shot clock violation on the ensuing possession, Cote quickly charged down the floor and pulled up from deep range for a 3-pointer with 15 seconds to play that cut the deficit to 74-72.
That set off what became a chaotic final few ticks on the clock. Drury inbounded the ball to star Scott McGuire Jr. in its own end, but the junior fell to the ground with the ball in his possession. Pioneer’s Ryan Underwood immediately pounced, grabbing for the ball with McGuire Jr. on the ground. While McGuire Jr. stumbled on the play, the referees did whistle a held-ball with the Panthers earning the alternate possession.
That gave Pioneer new life, with a chance to tie or win the game and 12.5 seconds on the clock. The renewed optimism was short-lived, however, as an inbounds pass from Ryan Potter intended for Cote along the sideline was stolen by Drury. The Panthers managed to get another held-ball, but this time, the possession arrow favored the Blue Devils.
Thayer said the loss of freshman Jared Hubbard, one of his top ball-handlers, to a concussion in the third quarter, did his team no favors down the stretch. Add in the fact that fellow guard Troy Emond fouled out on a questionable call near the end of regulation, and it was an even tougher blow for Pioneer.
“The hard thing was when Jared Hubbard went out, it took a ball-handler out of the game who takes the pressure off Garrett,” the coach offered. “And Troy fouled out on a terrible call.”
On the ensuing play, McGuire Jr. received a pass, tight-rope walked the baseline where it appeared he stepped out of bounds (an assessment Thayer agreed with), and was fouled with 6.7 seconds to play. He sank both free throws to secure the 76-72 victory.
“They’re a good team, I think we’re a good team, and it came down to a couple big plays at the end,” Drury head coach Jack Racette said. “We went ahead early, they battled back, they were up 11 and we kept our composure.”
With the history involved between the teams, the threat of overtime always loomed. Pioneer did build its largest lead of the game, 53-42, after back-to-back 3-pointers from Cote and a layup from Underwood with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.
That forced Drury point guard Reece Racette (19 points), who was saddled on the bench with four fouls, back into the game.
McGuire Jr. took over from there, leading Drury’s comeback. He scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the second half and overtime, including 12 straight for his team at one point to help claw them back. His layup off a Pioneer turnover tied the game at 58-58 with 3:53 remaining in the fourth.
“We knew we were going to give it up to (McGuire Jr.),” said Thayer. “He got going a little bit in the second half and once he got going, it felt good to him.”
Pioneer again looked destined for another finals trip, as Cote hit two free throws and followed with another hoop to give his team a 62-58 lead with 3:13 to play.
But the Devils wouldn’t be denied, ripping off a 7-0 run thanks to a boost from Obilio Rodriguez that helped Drury take a 65-62 lead with 1:25 to go.
Zack Fox sank a free throw and Cote’s runner along the baseline sent things into overtime, setting the stage for a wild final four minutes.
“I think their coach does a great job and they’ve got a good guard (Cote). I think I do a pretty good job and I’ve got good guards,” Racette said. “No big men, but we compete on the glass. Early, it was an offensive rebounding game. They got a bunch and we got a bunch. Then guys started getting physical and started getting on the boards a little bit. And it became about who was making shots.”
Drury’s nose for the offensive glass carried it early. The team scooped up seven offensive rebounds in the opening quarter, cashing in on four second-chance opportunities. Rodriguez scored six points in that span, helping the Blue Devils take an early 18-12 lead after McGuire drained a 3-pointer with 1:25 left in the opening period.
But as it has done all season, Pioneer’s ability to put together quick-hitting scoring sprees led the Panthers back into the equation. Cote’s jumper was followed by back-to-back hoops from Fox, and Emond added a corner jumper of his own to cap an 8-0 run. Less than a minute later, Underwood sank two straight hoops, his second a layup in traffic that gave his team its first lead – a 29-28 advantage with 2:41 left before intermission.
Despite two early fouls from Cote, despite issues on the glass, despite the 1-2 punch of McGuire and Racette combining for 22 in the first half, Pioneer used a 20-7 run to close the half, staking itself to a 37-33 halftime lead. Emond and Cote each drilled 3-pointers in the final minute to help the defending champs enter the locker room with the four-point cushion.
Drury will face top-seeded Ware in Saturday’s championship game at 12:15 at the Cage.