SCITUATE — It felt like there have been numerous storylines getting into Tuesday night time’s boys basketball bout between North Quincy and Scituate.
Not too stunning for the reason that two applications had been vying for supremacy inside the confines of the Patriot League all season. This sport additionally had historical past hanging within the stability with Sailors coach Matt Poirier on the verge of a profession milestone.
However, when the night time reached its conclusion, the Raiders left yet one more rival’s health club with a press release victory. Zach Taylor erupted for 18 factors and eight rebounds, whereas fellow senior captain Dylan Clifford added a double-double (11 factors, 11 rebounds) as North Quincy coasted to a convincing 53-39 victory.
“It’s huge,” Clifford mentioned afterward. “It wasn’t like a close game, we pulled away. They’re a good team, and to do that to them, I’m proud of the team. We played really well tonight. It was a huge win.”
Prior to the sport, the colleges had been in lockstep when it got here to the MIAA’s newest Div. 2 energy rankings, with North Quincy ranked No. 19. Meanwhile, Scituate entered at No. 20, and the sport was a slog to start out.
Early on, each groups struggled to hit a shot, because the Raiders (11-4) clung to a 1-0 benefit halfway by means of the opening quarter. However, following a full-scale substitution by Scituate (10-4), Taylor discovered a groove, serving to the Raiders take a 10-7 lead on the finish of the body. He would rack up 10 factors within the first half alone, as North Quincy took a 27-18 lead into the break.
Then it was Clifford’s time to shine because the Sailors tried to take Taylor out of the sport on the offensive finish. With 3:20 to play within the third, Clifford pulled up for a shot from lengthy vary. The try ricocheted excessive off the glass, then fell gracefully by means of the ring because the Raiders made it a 35-25 affair.
“It definitely left the hand a little wonky,” laughed Clifford. “I didn’t mean to bank it in obviously. Though, I did say, ‘Bank!’ I felt like it was long. When it went down, I just looked at Nate Caldwell and we started laughing. That’s when we kind of felt OK.”
The Raiders proceeded to embark on a 12-2 run from that time on, sealing the essential victory.
Poirier was on the verge of eclipsing 350 profession wins for Scituate. Following a protracted speech together with his staff, the coach emerged from his locker room, already targeted on enhancing for the subsequent sport.
“We’re going through these steps that teams do,” Poirier mentioned. “I just want to skip those steps that hurt, and don’t need to be undergone. You don’t have to get hit by a bus to know it sucks. You just don’t, and we just didn’t play hard enough when we didn’t shoot well. Credit to North Quincy. They looked like a bunch of guys who play a lot of basketball tonight. They just looked like they had chemistry. They knew exactly what they wanted to do, and they grind. We have to learn to do that, too.”
Scituate was propelled all night time by Michael Porter, who registered a game-high 23 factors.
“It’s always a challenging place for us to play down here,” mentioned North Quincy coach Kevin Barrett. “It’s always an uphill battle. I was just really proud of our 32-minute defensive effort. I thought that was the difference in the game.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com