AMHERST, Mass. – Jamal Sistrunk scored 16 points Saturday to lead four Taconic players in double figures as the Thunder dominated Westfield for a 69-20 win in the PIoneer Valley Tipoff at the University of Massachusetts.
Christian Maturevich scored 13 and was credited with seven steals, and Martin Boua and Kyle McGrath added 10 points apiece as Taconic bounced back from a season-opening road loss.
The Thunder (1-1) stormed out to a 16-0 lead and led, 24-2 by the end of the first quarter. Westfield’s did not get its first field goal until the first minute of the second quarter.
“Well, I hope we can play better,” Taconic coach Bill Heaphy said of the first quarter. “I’m happy with it. You can’t find too much wrong when you hold a team scoreless.
“But it’s early in the year. Westfield’s going to get better. I liked how we rebounded, I liked how we shared the ball. I thought guys were unselfish, and that’s important. I thought Christian [Maturevich] was pretty much everywhere, doing a lot of things.”
Boua did a lot in the early going, scoring twice in the post in the first few minutes, the second time giving the Thunder an 8-0 lead. Later, he pulled down an offensive rebound that led to a basket by Sistrunk to make it 14-0.
Elijah Harewood came up big at the end of the quarter, scoring Taconic’s last eight points – six on 3-pointers – to push the margin to 22.
After a low-scoring second quarter sent Taconic to the locker room with a 24-point lead, Sistrunk scored eight points in the third to help open up a 38-point bulge before Westfield closed on a 6-0 run.
But the fourth quarter was a near repeat of the first as Taconic outscored the Bombers, 19-2. Boua and Kyle McGrath each scored six before the Thunder turned the game over to its reserves, who extended the lead.
“It’s nice when you come into a game with a 30-point lead, so there’s really no pressure on them,” Heaphy said. “But it was very good to see them perform, and I’m glad they got a taste.
“They didn’t play a lot in the East Longmeadow game, the guys off the bench, so it was a good opportunity for them. And we’re going to need them down the road. We’d like to have a strong bench to complement the starting guys.”
Taconic hosts Minnechaug on Tuesday.
