There’s nothing like starting the season with a little “extra innings” basketball style as a JV battle at North Adams High School between the Green Devils and the visiting Peebles Indians went to overtime to kick off the 2015-16 boys’ season. In that extra frame, it was the host Devils prevailing, holding off the Indians 49-45.
“This was a great win for us to start off the season,” said North Adams JV coach Rob Meade. “I thought we played very well in the first half, shared the basketball, and attacked the basket.”
The first half that Meade referred to was a good one for the home team as they raced to a 14-5 lead after the first quarter, behind a strong offensive performance by Colt Shumaker, who racked up eight of the 14 scores. In the second period, the action heated up on both sides from long range as the Indians got three-pointers from Wade Shively and Bostin Robinson, while the Devils one-upped them with a trey from Ethan Campbell and two by Elijah Young.
When the halftime break rolled around, it was the Green Devils looking like they were in command, leading by double digits at 28-17.
Someone forgot to tell the Indians at the half that the game was over and they came out on fire in the third quarter, scoring the first nine points, and suddenly what looked like an easy time for the home team had turned into a tight affair. Peebles did most of its comeback damage from the charity stripe, hitting 7 of 9 attempts in the third period. The nine-point run woke up the Devils, however, and they rallied back behind a big three from the corner by Bryant Lung and stretched their lead back out to 38-30 heading into the final seven minutes of play.
“Peebles made some adjustments at the half that affected what were were trying to do,” said Coach Meade. “I thought down the stretch it was our defensive intensity that helped us get the win.”
The majority of the fourth quarter was made up of the Indians trying to fight back and the Devils trying to hold them off. Again, the visitors spent a majority of their time at the free throw line with the clock stopped, which is always a good formula in a comeback. Peebles hit 8 of 14 attempts in the final stanza, but still trailed by three as the clock was winding down. The ball went to Logan Gordley at the top of the key and he drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 43 with 20 seconds left in regulation. The Indians got the ball back for a final shot but the attempt by Shively bounced off and the game headed for an extra period.
In the overtime, the scoring began when Young hit a three for the Devils and that gave them a lead they would never relinquish. A baseline drive and score by Peebles’ Conner Browning made it 46-45, but that was it for the Peebles offense. Two free throws by Ryan Shupert and another by Ben Figgins sealed the deal for the Devils, who escaped with the 49-45 overtime win in their season opener.
It was a balanced scoring attack for the winners, led by 10 points from Colt Shumaker, 9 from Elijah Young, 8 from Ben Figgins, and 6 each from Bryant Lung, Ryan Shupert, and Seth Daulton.
Peebles was paced by 12 points from Bostin Robinson, with Blake Smalley and Logan Gordley adding 8 apiece.
Peebles 5 12 13 13 2 —45
N. Adams 14 14 10 5 6 —49
Peebles (45): Browning 2 3-4 7, Shively 1 3-4 6, Robinson 3 5-7 12, Stivers 2 0-2 4, Smalley 2 4-4 8, Gordley 3 1-4 8, Team 13 16-25 45.
N. Adams (49): Lung 2 1-1 6, Campbell 1 0-0 3, Call 0 1-2 1, Shupert 0 6-9 6, Daulton 3 0-0 6, Figgins 2 4-7 8, Young 3 0-0 9, Shumaker 4 2-6 10, Team 15 14-25 49.
Three-Point goals:
Peebles- Shively 1, Robinson 1, Gordley 1
N. Adams- Lung 1, Campbell 1, Young 3
