North Adams’ Cameron Young, right, looks for space as West Union’s Clayton Jones defends in the Jan. 5 meeting between the two JV teams. North Adams grabbed the home win by a final score of 53-34.

Chalk up wins over West Union and Whiteoak as solid season continues – 

By Mark Carpenter – 

While their varsity counterparts have had some early season struggles, Coach Rob Meade and his JV North Adams Green Devils have strung together a pretty good first half of their 201-718 season. With recent wins over West Union and Whiteoak, the JV Devils are sporting an impressive 9-1 mark on the season,the only blemish being an overtime one-point loss to Ripley.
On Jan. 5, the JV Devils hosted West Union in a game that was fast-paced from the start, featuring two teams that like to get it up and down the court. Behind three-pointers from Jordan Lamphier and Tanner Neal, the visiting Dragons held an 11-9 lead late in the first quarter, but the Devils went on a 10-0 run that extended into the second period, and took a lead they never relinquished.
The North Adams defense gave the Dragons fits, forcing 14 first half West Union turnovers, and the 10-0 run was finally broken by another Neal trey, but at the half, it was still the Devils leading 24-16.
A third quarter three-pointer by Cade Meade gave North Adams a 32-20 lead, which the Dragons sliced down to eight before a three by Cameron Young pushed the home team’s margin back to 11. The third stanza came to a close with the Devils still comfortably in front at 41-28.
In the final six minutes, the Devils got two more buckets from Cade Meade as well as one each from Kent Mefford, Jayden Hesler, and Cameron Young to pull away and post their eight win of the year by a final score of 53-34.
Cade Meade led the winners with 14 points, with Hesler adding 13. Cameron Young scored 9 with Ethan Campbell chipping in with 8 in a well-rounded North Adams attack.
Brycen Staten topped West Union with 10 points, with Tanner Neal adding 8.

W. Union (34): Jones 1 0-0 2, Campbell 2 1-2 5, Parker 1 0-0 2, Neal 2 2-4 8, Staten 5 0-0 10, Blanton 2 0-0 4, Lamphier 1 0-0 3, Team 14 3-6 34.
N. Adams (53): Hesler 4 4-6 13, C. Young 3 2-2 9, Campbell 4 0-0 8, Gardner 1 1-2 3, I. Young 1 0-0 2, Mefford 1 0-0 2, C. Meade 6 1-2 14, S. Meade 1 0-0 2, Team 21 8-12 53.
Three-Point Goals:
W. Union (3): Neal 2, Lamphier 1
N. Adams (3): Hesler 1, C. Young 1, C. Meade 1

On Jan. 9, the JV Devils hosted Whiteoak and picked up their ninth win of the year, downing the Wildcats by a final count of 40-29.
The first quarter was tight, with the Devils using three baskets from Cade Meade to take a slim 13-11 advantage. It was the second period that turned the tide, however, as the Devils outscored the Cats 15-2, finding their mark from long distance and getting a quartet of three-pointers, two from Dalton Gardner and one each from Isaac Young and Seth Meade to bolt to a 28-13 halftime lead.
The scoring pace slowed in the second half for the Devils, but point guard Cameron Young tossed in a pair of treys and the North Adams squad used those to post the 11-point victory.
“We had a very strong second quarter and shot the ball well, allowing us to pull away in the first half,” said Coach Meade. “Also in the first half, we shared the basketball very well and were doing a great job of finding the open man.”
“In the second half, we turned the ball over too much and didn’t play real smart down the stretch. Cameron Young hit a big three for us in that fourth quarter to stop the Whiteoak run.”
Gardner led another balanced scoring attack for the Devils with 9 points, with Cade Meade and Isaac Young scoring 8 each, and Cameron Young adding 6. North Adams nailed seven three-pointers in the win.

Whiteoak
11 2 11 5– 29
North Adams
13 15 7 5 –40

Whiteoak (29): Butler 1 1-2 4, Campbell 6 0-1 13, Roberts 3 1-2 7, Risner 1 1-2 3, Lehr 1 0-0 2, Team 12 3-7 29.
N. Adams (40): Hesler 1 1-2 4, C. Young 2 0-0 6, Campbell 0 0-1 0, Gardner 3 1-2 9, I. Young 3 1-2 8, Mefford 1 0-0 2, C. Meade 4 0-0 8, S. Meade 1 0-0 3, Team 15 3-7 40.
Three-Point Goals:
Whiteoak (2): Butler 1, Campbell 1
N. Adams (7): Hesler 1, C. Young 2, Gardner 2, I. Young 1, S. Meade 1