North Adams sophomore Caleb Rothwell tallied 11 points in the Devils’ season-opening win at Southeastern on November 30. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
The 2021-22 season got off to a roaring start for Coach Nathan Copas and his North Adams Green Devils on Tuesday, November 30 as the Devils traveled to Southeastern Ross and came back to Adams County with win number one in their pocket. The North Adams squad led at every quarter break and hit nine three-pointers on their way to a big 62-44 victory.
“Overall, I thought it was a good first game for us,” said Coach Copas. “We are playing a lot of young players and we don’t have a lot of varsity experience on the floor right now. Each game I think our guys will feel more comfortable and will start playing with more confidence.”
In Tuesday;s win, the Devils got off to a good start, leading 14-10 after one period, getting a combined 10 points from Jayce Rothwell and Bransyn Copas. The North Adams spark in the second quarter came from senior Cameron Campbell, who drilled in a trio of three-point goals as the Devils extended their advantage to double digits, 32-22, at the half.
Southeastern barely cut into that deficit in the third quarter as three-pointers from Caleb Rothwell and Carson Osborne kept the Devils on top 4s-33 heading into the final stanza. The fourth quarter was all North Adams as the Devils racked up 20 points, getting three-point successes from Copas and Caleb Rothwell and a pair of buckets from Avery Anderson. The North Adams defense held their hosts to 11 fourth quarter points, leaving the final score at 62-44.
“In the second half, I thought we started doing a better job on the defensive end which led to opportunities on offense,” said Coach Copas. “Cameron (Campbell) gave us a spark with those second quarter three-pointers and I felt like we kind of took control from there.”
Bransyn Copas led scorers for both teams with 19 points on the night, joined in double figures by Caleb Rothwell with 11 and Cameron Campbell with 13.
Tuesday night also marked the JV coaching debut for North Adams’ Blake Bradley and it was a successful one as the JV Devils routed Southeastern by a final count of 48-22. The JV Devils were led in the win by Connor Young’s 17 points with Breestin Schweickart adding 12.
The North Adams boys will be back in action on Friday, December 3 when they open Southern Hills Athletic Conference play, hosting Lynchburg. Non-conference play continues the next night as the Devils will be on the road at Eastern Pike.
North Adams
14 18 10 20— 62
Southeastern
10 12 11 11 —44
N. Adams (62): J. Rothwell 3 0-2 6, Hesler 1 0-0 2, Copas 8 1-2 19, C. Rothwell 4 0-0 11, Osborne 1 0-0 3, Anderson 2 0-0 4, Campbell 5 0-0 13, Buttelwerth 2 0-0 4, Team 26 1-4 62.
Southeastern (44): Evans 6 0-0 12, Corcoran 4 2-2 12, Carroll 4 0-0 11, Baxter 1 0-0 2, Adams 0 1-2 1, Gowan 1 0-0 3, Cartwright 0 3-4 3, Team 16 6-8 44.
Three-Point Goals:
N. Adams (9): Copas 2, C. Rothwell 3, Osborne 1, Campbell 3
Southeastern (6): Corcoran 2, Carroll 3, Gowan 1
