North Adams 54 Minford 46 a final/D3 District 'ship

[pfloyd]

North Adams 54
Minford 46 a final

... game film is watched, game plans are drawn up, practices held where details are ironed out , surviving and advancing still comes down to execution on the court ... execution on THE BIG COURT ... not only is the atmosphere open, and the black college 3 point line present - on the BIG court there is more area to defend ... Coach Copas and the North Adams Green Devils took advantage of ALL of it!!! NA forced Minford to defend every inch of the Convo floor ... Minford had size with 6-7, 6-6, 6-4 on the front line - the NA coaching staff looked at the 2 teams lineups and said "WE are quick at EVERY position" we're going to make you guard us everywhere - NA ran an ISO offense which isolated each defender on the man with the ball ... each time down the floor the isolation game worked the ball until it found the hands of maybe the quickest of the guards in the SE district - jr. Bransyn Copas ... PG, floor general, ball handler, can get into the paint & dish, get to the rim, shoot the midrange jumper, drive - step back for the 3 pointer - an entire arsenal of weapons that were executed to perfection offensively ... defense - the unexpected - the Green Devils controlled their offensive boards ... possessions seemed to be multiple possession trips each time down floor as NA was the first to each offense miss on the Green Devil end of the floor - the entire 32 minutes ... defensively the size inside for Minford never seemed to get highlighted as NA's bigs -Dillon Ragan and Kamden Buttelwerth held their own in the paint and then some while the "black line" factor and court size did the rest ... game plan ... execution ... Championship ... they all contributed to the Green Devils of North Adams "Coming back to the Convo!" as D3 district champions ... North Adams 54 Minford 46 a final ...

... Minford had THE start they wanted - Jackson Shoemaker for the Falcons was un-phased by the "black line" factor as the 6-4 soph stepped out a calmly drained a pair of triples (6pts) ... a drive to the rim by 6-6 soph Bennett Kayser gave MHS early separation 2pts ... North Adams ran their weave on the perimeter as Cody Hesler went one on one to the rim for 2pts / Jayce Rothwell took one of the 3 Minford "fumbles" in the opening quarter to the house for a transition bucket / 6-6 Kamden Buttelwerth added 1/2 from the FT line to end the NA scoring in the 1st ... Myles Montgomery was able to score on a drive from the 3pt line to the rim 2pts/ and get 1/2 from the FT line ... Minford 11 North Adams 5 after 1 ... cheap seats observation - Minford went 2/5 from 3 point land in the quarter both by Shoemaker/ North Adams 0/6 BUT it seemed on every 3 point attempt miss the Green Devils were getting the offensive board ... not a putback basketball around the rim but long bounces off the rim that had NA showing patience, restarting the offense ... patience, discipline, sticking with the game plan, execution ... at 4:15 in the 2nd NA had forged a 13-13 tie on a Bransyn Copas 3 pointer ... the jr. PG for NA looked comfortable, looked like he was getting the shots he wanted from where he wanted to take them as Copas knocked down 11 points in the period (2 treys & 1/2 from the FT line) ... a 17-10 NA quarter advantage when the dust settled ... Breeston Schweickhart for NA added a pair of 2 pters (4pts) and Jayce Rothwell picked up his 2nd bucket of the games (2pts) ... while NA looked to be getting the shots they wanted offensively - Minford struggled to get shots from spots on the floor where they were comfortable - Montgomery was able to hit a long 3 ball and was sent to the line for 1/2 FTs ... senior big man Joe Hannah had one of the few putback baskets of the game and only 1 of 2 for the Falcons in the game when all was said and done ... Falcons instead of getting more separation by building on their 1st quarter lead were unable to score the ball from the field in the 2nd - 2 fgs/5 for 8 from the FT line ... North Adams 22 Minford 21 at the half ... the offensive rebounding continued to stand out - as NA missed offensive opportunities BUT weren't penalized with scores by Minford at the other end of the floor ... long 3 pointers for NA were rebounded by fellow Green Devils ... the 3rd quarter was a wash - Minford NEEDED to establish themselves offensively and GET defensive boards at the other end - didn't happen at either end - the best the Falcons could do was win the 3rd 12-11 (net gain of +1) not enough, as NA gained confidence in the "game plan" the deeper into the game this one went and the score being tight ... Minford scoring in the 3rd was spread among the roster as Kayser/Crank/Montgomery/Shoemaker and Hannah all knocked down a 2 pointer ... MHS went 2/3 from the FT line in the 3rd ... a key turning point in the quarter and the game was 6-7 senior Joe Hannah going hard to the rim, fouled hard going down injuring his back ... he was unable to shot the "and 1" Bailey White off the bench entered to go 1/1 from the line ... Hannah would re-enter the game but was visibly hurting the final quarter and a half of the game ... for NA - holding Minford in check from behind the arc/ keeping Montgomery out of the paint on drives while offensively getting their shots with TEAM speed - the perfect scenario for NA ... Copas added 2 fgs/4pts ...big man Dillon Ragan got a big putback bucket 2pts and Carson Osborne added a transition bucket at the rim AND a big 3 point shot to close out the quarter (5pts) ... Minford 33 North Adams 33 after 3 ... the score was tied but the "feel" I was getting was that air of confidence that is usually on the Minford end of the court - wasn't there ... they had thrown everything they had at NA and the Green Devils were still standing with momentum on their end of the court ... Bransyn Copas had been THE guy through 3 quarters - keeping the Green Devils even with Minford ... making sure the Falcons did not get separation ... in the 4th Carson Osborne took over for NA ... Osborne helped NA get separation as he continued how HE ended the 3rd period ... Osborne hit a midrange jumper for 2/followed it up with a steal and transition bucket before finishing his own run with a drive to the rim ... at 5:06 on the clock NA led 39-36 ... the only points for MHS was a putback bucket by Hannah and one (3pts) ... Shoemaker added 2/2 from the FT line ... by the 3:19 mark the NA lead was 46-40 ... a 3 point bucket from Crank (his 1st and only trey of the game) made the score 43-48 NA with 1:37 to play ... Schweickhart put the dagger in and twisted it with a deep 3pointer giving the Green Devils a 51-43 lead with :54.6 to play in the game ... a final 3 pointer by Myles Montgomery ended the Falcon's season ... North Adams won the 4th period and the game with a 21-13 scoring advantage in the final 8 minutes ... Osborne with 8 points led the way, Copas 5pts/Schweickart 3 pts with his trey/Dillon Ragan off the bench added 3pts with a 2pointer on the block to go with 1/2 from the free throw line/ Rothwell 2pts ... great game plan, even better execution on the court ... North Adams 54 Minford 46 a final ...

... Pfloyd's official UN-official Napkin Stats - Minford

Scoring ... Myles Montgomery 12, Jackson Shoemaker 11, Joe Hannah 10, Bennett Kayser 7, Adam Crank 5, Bailey White 1
3 Pointers ... 5/22 ... Jackson Shoemaker 2, Myles Montgomery 2, Adam Crank 1
FTs ... 11/17
TOs ... 10
PnP ... 7fgs/ 14 points in the paint
PnT ... 0
Pbk ... 2 fgs/ 4 points on putback buckets

... great season, still the best starting 5 in SEO with the length, size, scoring ability across the board ... still the #1 TEAM Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... wasn't Minford's best effort ... they looked flat, looked like the Convo got them last night ... give credit where credit is due - North Adams didn't allow ANY of the Minford scorers to "go off" ... the usual 20+ point scorer? and it could have been anyone of the Falcons because any one of them can get 20+ - NA kept the Falcons - all of them - in the house, no one was able to go off offensively for MHS - a credit to NA's game plan and execution ... great pieces returning for next season for Minford - looking forward to seeing the 2023-24 edition come November!

... Pfloyd's official UN-official Napkin Stats - North Adams

Scoring ... Bransyn Copas 20, Carson Osborne 13, Breestin Schweikart 7, Jayce Rothwell 6, Dillon Ragan 5, Cody Hesler 2, Kamden Buttelwerth 1
3 Pointers ... 4/18 ... Bransyn Copas 2, Carson Osborne 1, Breeston Schweickart 1
FTs ... 6/14
TOs ... 3
PnP ... 11 fgs/ 22 points in the paint
PnT ... 4 fgs/ 8 points in transition
Pbk ... 2 fgs/ 4 points on putback buckets

... great game plan, great execution ... discipline to stay focused for 4 quarters, smelling blood in the 4th period and attacking - Osborne/Copas ... a very good game inside by Buttelwerth AND off the bench giving good minutes was Dillon Ragan 4pts on the blocks with a putback and catch on the block & score on a nice assistance down low ... NA used their team speed at every position to win on the offensive end of the floor ... I don't keep rebounds but the NA offensive rebounding had to be 10+ more than Minford - keeping possessions alive ... great effort by the Green Devil TEAM in getting the District 'ship ... best of luck in the regional semi's !!!

[Ironman92]

Biggest SE district win of the season….what a time to rise to the occasion

Coach Dave Young is looking down at his former star point guard and smiling at his grand coaching performance and proud of the youngsters on the court.

North Adams is a basketball school. They are good people. They have some form of club football I believe, don’t take soccer too seriously. Their boys basketball team are the district champions. Their girls basketball team were the district champions. Basketball is king at North Adams and they are doing it well.

Years back we had our 5th graders at a basketball tournament in Greenfield….we were pretty good. We faced this little North Adams team. Kids were much smaller. We beat them pretty good but they were impressive for being so undersized…turns out they were 3rd graders. Their little point guard was Copas and Coach was Nathan Copas. 8 years later they’ve earned what many had hoped of back then….I’d guess their dreams went a bit further actually. Best of luck to them. I’ve long been a fan of the North Adams athletic community.

[VetteMan]

Pfloyd, good rundown as usual. Copas was a pleasure to watch.

[mattash]

Bransyn Copas was fun to watch

[BigBlueNation]

Biggest SE district win of the season….what a time to rise to the occasion

Coach Dave Young is looking down at his former star point guard and smiling at his grand coaching performance and proud of the youngsters on the court.

North Adams is a basketball school. They are good people. They have some form of club football I believe, don’t take soccer too seriously. Their boys basketball team are the district champions. Their girls basketball team were the district champions. Basketball is king at North Adams and they are doing it well.

Years back we had our 5th graders at a basketball tournament in Greenfield….we were pretty good. We faced this little North Adams team. Kids were much smaller. We beat them pretty good but they were impressive for being so undersized…turns out they were 3rd graders. Their little point guard was Copas and Coach was Nathan Copas. 8 years later they’ve earned what many had hoped of back then….I’d guess their dreams went a bit further actually. Best of luck to them. I’ve long been a fan of the North Adams athletic community.

When my son was in Jr. High we had some good battles with them. In 7th Northwest traveled to NA it was standing room only, biggest crowd I ever seen at a jr high game, NA won in a close one. We played them in a shoot out at Portsmouth in the summer and it was a great close game with NA winning a close one. In 8th grade we played at Northwest high-school and Northwest won a close one, Copas was out with a ankle injury in that game. NA was undersized but very scrappy and fundamentaly very good for their age, very fun to watch.
I was surprised to hear the Rothwell boy that was on those teams stopped playing. He was a very good player.

[danicalifornia]

I know I said that I wanted to see the rematch on the bigger floor when we watched this game in January

The bigger floor opened up extra driving lanes for Copas and they were able to better execute their defensive gameplan this time around, which was very similar to the last time around. Only one senior, so early January they still had guys getting used to their roles. Now, in March, they are experienced and excelling in those roles.

[wobycat]

Minford should of won this. SMH

[Warrior03]

Biggest SE district win of the season….what a time to rise to the occasion

Coach Dave Young is looking down at his former star point guard and smiling at his grand coaching performance and proud of the youngsters on the court.

North Adams is a basketball school. They are good people. They have some form of club football I believe, don’t take soccer too seriously. Their boys basketball team are the district champions. Their girls basketball team were the district champions. Basketball is king at North Adams and they are doing it well.

Years back we had our 5th graders at a basketball tournament in Greenfield….we were pretty good. We faced this little North Adams team. Kids were much smaller. We beat them pretty good but they were impressive for being so undersized…turns out they were 3rd graders. Their little point guard was Copas and Coach was Nathan Copas. 8 years later they’ve earned what many had hoped of back then….I’d guess their dreams went a bit further actually. Best of luck to them. I’ve long been a fan of the North Adams athletic community.

I agree, they’re just good people. North Adams has experienced some major growth over the years. I wouldn’t say they “don’t take soccer too seriously” considering they just won the district championship and have been district contenders for the past 5-7 years. Seems like a compliment, but a backhand dig to them. Additionally, their boys golf just went to state. The Girls cross country and track teams have been district champions the past two years as well. Their community is just unmatched. They set the bar high and they show up for their teams. It’s always a sea of green and gold.

The Boys definitely outplayed minford on Sunday. March madness can get crazy at times but thats the nature of the beast. Congrats Devils!!

[Ironman92]

Biggest SE district win of the season….what a time to rise to the occasion

Coach Dave Young is looking down at his former star point guard and smiling at his grand coaching performance and proud of the youngsters on the court.

North Adams is a basketball school. They are good people. They have some form of club football I believe, don’t take soccer too seriously. Their boys basketball team are the district champions. Their girls basketball team were the district champions. Basketball is king at North Adams and they are doing it well.

Years back we had our 5th graders at a basketball tournament in Greenfield….we were pretty good. We faced this little North Adams team. Kids were much smaller. We beat them pretty good but they were impressive for being so undersized…turns out they were 3rd graders. Their little point guard was Copas and Coach was Nathan Copas. 8 years later they’ve earned what many had hoped of back then….I’d guess their dreams went a bit further actually. Best of luck to them. I’ve long been a fan of the North Adams athletic community.

I agree, they’re just good people. North Adams has experienced some major growth over the years. I wouldn’t say they “don’t take soccer too seriously” considering they just won the district championship and have been district contenders for the past 5-7 years. Seems like a compliment, but a backhand dig to them. Additionally, their boys golf just went to state. The Girls cross country and track teams have been district champions the past two years as well. Their community is just unmatched. They set the bar high and they show up for their teams. It’s always a sea of green and gold.

The Boys definitely outplayed minford on Sunday. March madness can get crazy at times but thats the nature of the beast. Congrats Devils!!

Oh I know their successes. Maybe it’s me that doesn’t take soccer too seriously . All those other teams you listed are mostly the same athletes. The volleyball team wins league every year too. I’m quite familiar with the XC teams.