High Schools: Smith Academy boys basketball falls to Community Charter School of Cambridge, 65-55, in D5 prelims (PHOTOS)
HATFIELD — Nothing was going the No. 26 Smith Academy boys basketball team’s way through nearly three quarters of play in its MIAA Division 5 preliminary round matchup with No. 39 Community Charter School of Cambridge. And when a Cougars player banked in a 3-pointer from the top of they key to give the visitors their largest lead of the game at 45-31 late in the third frame, the mountain seemed almost too steep to climb.
But the Falcons responded immediately, as they erupted on a 10-0 run in what was their best stretch of basketball in the game. Both Harrison LaFlamme and Ryan McCoy buried 3s before Jake Wilcox made a mid-range jumper, and all of a sudden Smith Academy was only down by four heading to the final eight minutes.
However the hosts couldn’t maintain that momentum the rest of the way. An 8-0 CCSC run midway through the fourth served as the dagger. Smith Academy fell 65-55 on its home floor to end its season in the Division 5 state tournament at Sherry Webb Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
“All season they’ve worked hard, and we said basketball is a game of runs,” Falcons head coach Matt Zerneri said. “Each team ws going to go on a run. It helped that we got a couple of easy baskets, and made some 3s during that stretch. Our guys worked hard, some turnovers went our way, and we were able to convert on them. We did a good job of creating turnovers tonight, we just didn’t convert enough.”
Senior Cameron Graves scored the first six points of the fourth quarter for Smith Academy, keeping his team in the game and cutting the deficit back down to four, 55-51, prior to the CCSC 8-0 run. The Falcons continued to full-court press and run their offense until the clock showed zeroes, much to the liking of Zerneri.
His team never gave in even as the gap widened to a dozen late in the game. That’s something the longtime Smith Academy head coach has come to expect from his senior-heavy group. They’ve shown him their grit for four years, so he wasn’t shocked to see it one final time on Wednesday.
“I’m proud of them,” Zerneri said. “They never quit. They play hard until the final horn. But it’s tough to see six seniors go, especially going out on our home court. I know they wanted to win this and get on the road for the next round. They’ve done everything we’ve asked. They worked to get better every day and they play the game the right way.”
Smith Academy trailed 12-10 at the end of the first quarter and 33-23 at halftime following a pair of 3s from Cougars senior Stevon Consalves. What allowed CCSC to build its first-half lead was the Falcons’ inability to make free throws. They missed 10 in the first half and 15 total, going 12-for-27.
Poor shooting from the line has been an issue for Smith Academy all winter, and it was once more in its biggest game of the year.
“We did a great job getting to the line, we just didn’t finish,” Zerneri said. “That’s been an Achilles heel all year for us, and it bit us tonight.”
Graves finished the night with a team-high 18 points, McCoy had one of his best games of the year for the Falcons, posting a season-high 14 points, while Garret Willard (eight) and LaFlamme (seven) combined for 15 points. Wilcox added six and Connor Kowalski chipped in two to round out Smith Academy’s scoring.
McCoy became one of the Falcons’ primary ball handlers against the Cougars’ pressure. He was key in Smith’s third-quarter run, and scored 10 of his 14 points in the frame. Zerneri was happy to see one of his senior captains put together a strong showing in his final high school game.
“He’s got speed, length and quickness,” Zerneri said of McCoy. “When he’s able to put it together, it’s great. It’s just a matter of trying to get him to play under control while doing it. In the second half I thought he really did a good job of that. Once he settled in, he was one of the best players on the floor, for sure.”
Smith Academy finishes the season 12-9, and made it to the Western Mass. Class D semifinals before qualifying for the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
Community Charter School of Cambridge will hit the road to play No. 7 New Mission on Friday night at 5:30 p.m.
Div. 4 prelim
No. 29 New Heights 81, No. 36 Hampshire 32 — The Raiders were no match for the 29th-seeded New Heights boys basketball team on Wednesday, as they struggled from start to finish in a preliminary round road loss.
The 81 points were the second-most Hampshire has given up this season. The Raiders finish the season 12-9 while New Heights hits the road to take on No. 4 Millbury.
Div. 1 Round of 32
No. 1 Pope Francis 8, No. 32 Wellesley 1 — The Cardinals looked every bit the part as the top seed in Division 1, and they started their run through the state tournament in style with an 8-1 pummeling of Wellesley.
Pope Francis, which rosters players from Hampshire County, moves on to face No. 16 Braintree at a date and time to be announced.
Daily Hampshire Gazette
