North Adams seventh grader Kennedi Campbell (32) scored 12 points in the Lady Devils 34-14 SHAC Tournament championship win over Fayetteville on February 3. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
North Adams, Peebles runners-up in boys tournaments
Seventh grader Maverick Winkler (11) tallied 9 points for the Green Devils as they fell to Whiteoak in the SHAC Tournament finals, 46-34. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Peebles eighth grader Bo Johnson (23) scored 12 points as the Indians dropped a 52-32 decision to Fayetteville in the SHAC Tournament championship game on February 3. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
North Adams High School was the site on Saturday, February 3 for the championship round of the 2023-24 Southern Hills Athletic Conference Girls and Boys Basketball Tournaments. There were three Adams County teams playing for title, one girls, two boys, and for one the day would end in perfection and for the other two, in disappointment.
In the day’s 9 a.m. opener, Coach Brady Johnson and his seventh grade North Adams Lady Devils brought their perfect 15-0 record to the title game, where they faced the Fayetteville Lady Rockets. The Lady Devils had totally dominated their first two tournament outings, winning by a combined score of 82-4 over Lynchburg and Eastern Brown.
It wasn’t quite that large a gap in the championship game but the Lady Devils were never seriously threatened, leading 13-4 after one quarter and 19-9 at the half. After outscoring Fayetteville 11-5 in the third period, Coach Johnson’s squad threw a shutout over the final six minutes and made it a regular season and tournament sweep with the 34-14 triumph.
In their title win, the Lady Devils were led by 12 points apiece from Kennedi Campbell and Chloe Armstrong, with Tenzlee Burns adding 6 and Marnie Tolle 4.
The third game of the day was the seventh grade boys championship and it featured the upstart North Adams Green Devils, coached by Sam Lahmers, battling the Whiteoak Wildcats. the Green Devils, seeded #4, were fresh off a huge semi-final upset of the Peebles Indians and were looking to ride that momentum to a tournament crown.
It looked good early for the North Adams boys as they ended the first quarter in a 101-0 deadlock, but the middle two quarters spelled doom for the hosts as the Cats outscored them 27-14 to open up a double digit advantage. Playing from behind, the Devils outscored Whiteoak 10-9 in the final stanza but it was not enough as the #2 seeded Wildcats took the trophy with a 46-34 victory.
In the tough loss, the Devils were led in scoring by Brady Schweickart’s 12 points. Colt Ward and Maverick Winkler added 9 each with Kyser Swayne tossing in 4.
The final contest of championship day was an eighth grade boys battle between the top two seeds, #1 Fayetteville and #2 Peebles. The regular season meeting between the two was a one-point Fayetteville win and most expected this title game to be just as exciting. It turned out not to be the case.
For Coach Nate Stephens and the Indians, it was just one of those days and a bad time to turn in likely their worst performance of the season. The Rockets took control early and built a 31-17 halftime advantage and never looked back. The lead increased to 46-28 after three, eventually ending in a 52-32 Fayetteville victory.
It was certainly a memorable season for the eighth grade Tribe despite the finals disappointment and they were led in scoring on Saturday by two players with 12 points, Bo Johnson and Braylon Stephens. Kaiden LeRouge scored 4 while Lucas Krieger and Cole Elliott added 2 each.
