Grayson Thomas dropped 32 points for the Greenfield boys basketball team in a 82-67 win over Brattleboro Union on Tuesday night. Those types of performances are expected from the gifted sophomore who added five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
But most importantly for the Wave, they got secondary scoring from Gavin Arsenault (16 points) and Connor Bergeron (20 points). Thomas can expect to see a lot of collapsing defenses this season once Hampshire North play begins.
“I know that teams are going to key on him,” Arsenault said of Thomas. “When teams are keying on him I need to get to the basket. Get my points in and score whenever I can. Teams aren’t expecting anything from me. My job is to get to the rack when I can, get to the free throw line and play good defense.”
It was the home opener for the Green Wave (1-1). Greenfield used a 12-0 run at the beginning of the second quarter to build a lead on the visitors from Vermont. The lead dissipated in the fourth quarter.
“Our focus waned a little bit as we got a little more tired,” Greenfield coach Angelo Thomas said. “First half we had a lot of energy…in the fourth quarter I reiterated energy and effort. We have to use our speed quickness and athleticism to get to spots.”
A double-digit lead dwindled down to five points after a 3-pointer from Brattleboro’s Kaden Cole with five minutes, 47 seconds left in the game. The visiting Bears had an impressive amount of fans who made the trip down Route 91. Brattleboro had a section behind the visiting bench and a student section across the way.
Thomas called timeout to talk to his team.
“We didn’t have a lot of energy,” Grayson Thomas said. “Dad (Angelo Thomas) called timeout and gave us a little talk. That brought back the energy. We came back and pushed the score back up.”
Thomas and Arsenault took over from there, shutting down any remaining momentum the Bears had with aggressive takes to the rim. Thomas and Arsenault both went 2-for-2 from the line on consecutive offensive possessions to increase the lead back to 64-55.
For good measure, Thomas netted two 3-pointers in the final minute to increase the lead to 82-63. Offensive rebounds were a problem for the Green Wave.
“We definitely have to concentrate on rebounding every single time,” Angelo Thomas said. “That’s what’s going to make or break us.”
Hudson Smith scored 27 points for Brattleboro. The Green Wave host Hopkins Academy on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Hampshire North play.
Girls basketball
Frontier 51, Hoosac Valley 39 — In Frontier’s Suburban league opener, the Redhawks left the Berkshires with a win over the Hurricanes.
Addie Harrington scored 17 points for the Redhawks (2-1, 1-0 Suburban). Harrington went 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Skyler Steele added 11 points for Frontier. Whitney Campbell chipped in with nine points.
Duggan Academy 34, Turners Falls 24 — Jojo Hayman scored seven points, but the Thunder lost in Springfield.
Ivy Lopez added six points for Turners Falls (0-2, 0-2 Tri-County North). Turners Falls trailed 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
Baystate Academy 48, Athol 34 — The Bears lost at home in a Tri-County North match up. Evelyn King scored nine points for the Bears (0-3, 0-1 TCN). Madeline Desrosiers, Meliah Clark and Abigayle Spooner each added seven points for the Athol.