Pittsfield Avenges, Advances Against Taconic
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Round 3 was decided in the third quarter.
Bri’Awn Thompson Friday scored eight of his 14 points in that third quarter to help the Pittsfield boys basketball team outscore Taconic, 17-3, en route to a 60-44 win in the Western Massachusetts Class B Semi-Finals.
Thompson and Quincy Abellie each recorded a double-double as the Generals avenged a loss to the Thunder in the second of their two regular-season meetings and advanced to the regional final for the third straight year.
Four players finished in double figures for Pittsfield, which got 14 points from Cam Mochon, 13 points (and 10 rebounds) from Quincy Abellie and 11 points from Braiden Sullivan in winning for the fifth time in six outings.
“It feels amazing,” said Mochon, one of six Pittsfield seniors. “I remember, as a kid, coming to these games – always imagining myself on the court. The time finally came.”
Taconic struck the first blows when the time came for the rubber match in the city series.
The Thunder took a 15-9 lead late in the first quarter after a 3-pointer by Kamaris DeWitt (17 points) and a field goal from Kalvin Phillips (eight points).
Pittsfield reeled the Thunder back in, but Taconic again went up by six midway through the second when DeWitt drove the left wing for a basket to make it 26-20.
But the Generals closed the half on a 9-3 run that featured two baskets in the post by Abellie, sending the teams to the locker room tied 29-29.
It did not stay tied for long.
Sullivan started the third quarter with a 3-pointer, and Thompson drove the lane for a basket to put PHS up by five.
After Taconic (6-13) got a score from Quincy King (seven points), Pittsfield went on a 12-1 run to the end of the quarter to build a 46-32 lead.
Mochon made his mark during that run, hitting a 3-pointer assisted by Abellie and a transition basket assisted by Thompson during the rally.
Mochon also made a statement on defense, helping to corral Taconic’s Charlie Driscoll, who scored a game-high 19 points two days earlier in Taconic’s quarter-final win at Wahconah.
“I don’t even know what Charlie had, maybe three points?” Pittsfield coach Jerome Edgerton said. “And he scoffed those points without Cam on the floor.
“Cam actually started last game against Frontier. He’s a senior. He wanted it. I’m so proud of his defensive effort and his offense. He’s been working hard, and it’s been showing out here on the court.”
Pittsfield’s hard work and preparation paid big dividends in the second half as it maintained its double-digit lead.
A big moment came at the end of the third quarter, when PHS senior Noah Smalls methodically worked the clock before driving to the middle and dishing to Sam Touray for a corner 3 to give the Generals a 46-32 lead.
“It’s about maturity,” Edgerton said of the patience Pittsfield displayed in the second half. “It’s about growing up, maturing, playing championship basketball. That’s what we’ve been preaching. And we’re in the championship for a third straight year.
“And we’re bringing it home this time.”
After splitting the last two finals with Berkshire County rival Monument Mountain, the Generals (13-6) this year will face either South Hadley or top-seeded Sci-Tech, who meet in their semi-final on Monday in Springfield.