With this second quarter layup, North Adams senior guard Bransyn Copas became the top scorer all-time in Green Devils basketball, surpassing the mark set by his father Nathan in 1996. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Passes Dad Nathan in big win over Whiteoak
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
The passing of the torch was inevitable, it was only a matter of when. On Tuesday, January 16 at North Adams High School at the 4:10 mark of the second quarter in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference contest between Whiteoak and the host Green Devils, the torch was passed from father to son. North Adams senior Bransyn Copas grabbed a loose ball, drove to the basket and scored on a layup, making him the school’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing his father Nathan, who previously held the top spot with 1,362 career points.
Bransyn came into Tuesday night’s game needing 15 points to tie his father and 16 to pass and he came out of the gates like a man on a mission, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. An early second quarter basket tied the father-son and the aforementioned layup at the 4:10 mark made gave the son bragging rights in the Copas house.
“It’s pretty special and as it got closer, I started to think about it a little more,” said Bransyn of his feat. “I give all the glory to God because without him I’d be nothing. It’s even more special that I get to break my Dad’s record. there may have been a little trash-talking at home.”
“I can remember when I was four or five years old my Dad had me in the foyer doing ball-handling drills. I think I get my work ethic from him for sure and that’s also big.”
“There’s certainly no one better to lose my record to than Bransyn,” said Dad and Green Devils head coach Nathan Copas. “He’s worked extremely hard his whole life at playing basketball, it’s been a big part of his life since he was four or five years old. To see him surpass me and get this record, I really feel good for him. All the work he has put in is worth it now.”
“It’s a great accomplishment for him but his eyes are on winning basketball games and the team getting back to where we were last year and giving ourselves the opportunity ti win a sectional and district. Obviously, his play throughout the years has helped us get to where we’re at. He can affect the game in many ways and scoring is one of them. We’re very happy with the young man that he has become.”
As an example of Bransyn’s work ethic and dedication, his Dad cites the example of the family’s beach vacation two summers ago when the family had to find a recreation center where Bransyn could get his work in twice a day.
As far as Tuesday night’s game itself, it was another North Adams drubbing of a conference opponent. The Devils jumped to an early lead behind the 13 first quarter points from Copas and kept pouring it on. Copas broke the record, ended up with a game-high 21, then became a distributor the rest of the game as his teammates carried the load on the way to an eventual 68-33 win, their seventh in a row that improved them to 9-3 on the season, 6-0 in the SHAC.
The win may have been a costly one for the Devils, however, as junior sparkplug Breestin Schweickart went down with an apparent ankle injury.
Losing Schweickart would make the upcoming weekend schedule even tougher than it already is as the Devils travel on Friday night to Eastern Brown to face the Warriors, who stand at 7-2 in conference action. On Saturday night, the Devils will play host to the South Webster Jeeps in a game with very important RPI significance.
