North Adams junior Breestin Schweickart goes around a Chesapeake defender for one of his patented acrobatic shots in the Devils’ Coach Young Classic 59-45 win. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
North Adams rolls past Chesapeake 59-43
The typical result of the North Adams break is the layup, such as this one put in by junior Carson Osborne (14), over the outstretched arms of Chesapeake’s Kaden Perkins (4). (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
North Adams’ Jayce Rothwell is hammered on his way to the basket in action from the Devils’ win over Chesapeake. Rothwell finished with 11 points in the 59-43 victory. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Finding themselves sitting at #6 in the first released Division III Southeast District rankings, Coach Nathan Copas and his North Adams Green Devils are set on winning some games the remainder of the season that will boost that ranking and improve their tournament seeding. One of those opportunities came on their home floor in the nightcap of last weekend’s Coach Young Classic, facing the Chesapeake Panthers, a team that already has double digit wins over Fairland and Portsmouth, two of the top teams in the Southeast District. A win over Chesapeake would earn the Devils some needed RPI points and to put it mildly, they took care of business in a big way.
The visiting Panthers found out what a lot of teams have found out this season, when the Devils get rolling, they can be an unstoppable force. Taking the lead for good on a Connor Young three-pointer in the first quarter, the Devils just continued to pile it on and never trailed past that point, building up a 22-point second half advantage and cruising to their sixth consecutive win by a final score of 59-43.
“I really liked our energy tonight, something I challenged them with in the locker room before the game,” Coach Copas said in his postgame radio spot. “Chesapeake always plays hard and physical and I thought a big key was going to be our energy level for four quarters. Our defense sped them up a bit as our rotation keeps getting better and better.”
“Our tempo, running the floor in transition- when we’re doing that well we can be a pretty fun team to watch.”
The Devils opened Saturday night’s match up with baskets on their first two possession only to see the Panthers score six straight to take what turned out to be their only lead of the game at 6-4. The Young three-pointer with 3:43 to go in the first put North Adams on top for good. The Devils followed up the Young bomb with a drive and score from Bransyn Copas and another three-ball, this time from Carson Osborne, and the running North Adams offense was starting to click. With 36 seconds left in the opening period, Copas stepped behind the arc and tickled the twine to give his team an 18-12 lead.
The momentum continued for the host squad as the second quarter opened with a 7-0 North Adams run, another Copas trey sandwiched between baskets from Osborne and Jayce Rothwell. The Panthers put together a 5-2 run to stay within striking distance but it was becoming increasingly clear that the Devils were in firm control.
In the last two minutes of the first half, North Adams got buckets from Cody Hesler and Breestin Schweickart to lead by double digits at the half, 33-22.
Staring at an 11-point deficit at the half, the Panthers likely considered themselves capable of a comeback, but when that quickly turns into a 20-point hole, hopes get a bit dicier. The Devils opened the second half on a 10-2 run, eight of those points coming from Rothwell and Schweickart and the lead ballooned to 43-23. The devils continued to run, run, run and built the lead to 47-25 on baskets by Copas and Osborne. Later in the frame Copas stepped back and drilled a deep three and the Devils coasted into the final quarter with a comfortable 51-30 margin.
The lead continued to grow as the fourth quarter began with Copas and Schweickart tossing in two-pointers, two for Schweickart, that gave the Devils a 27-point lead and it was pretty close to the time for the fat lady to sing. When Copas hit two free throws the Devils led 59-35 and Coach Copas emptied the bench with just under two minute to go.In that span, the Panthers scored the game’s final eight points to make the score more respectable, but a 59-43 North Adams win was not nearly as close as the final score might indicate.
Bransyn Copas moved closer to the school’s all-time scoring record, leading the Devils with 19 points, joined in double figures by the usual suspects, Breestin Schweickart with 15 and Jayce Rothwell with 11. Carson Osborne added 7 as North Adams improved their overall mark to 8-3 on the season.
Chesapeake did not have a player in double figures and were led by Dannie Maynard and 8 from Maddox Kazee.
The Devils were back in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, January 16 as they hosted Whiteoak and will then face a challenging weekend, beginning with a trip to Eastern Brown on Friday night and then a SHAC home date on Saturday night with the South Wenster Jeeps. At press time, the Devils led the big school division of the SHAC with an unblemished 5-0 mark.
“I’m happy where we are at right now,” added Coach Copas. “We need to keep our eye on the prize and not get satisfied, stay hungry and keep getting better every day in practice. We’ve got a stretch ahead that is going to be tough and we are going to have to play well.”
“Every year the Coach Young Classic is an event that the community looks forward to, watching a full day of basketball. That’s what we do around here for fun in the winter time. We remember Coach Young and just celebrate basketball and his memory. He loved the game and his players, he’d give the shirt off his back for any of them. People either loved or hated him and there were a lot of guys who loved him, especially those of us who played for him. He just enjoyed helping to develop young men.”
