Blue Devils roll to win in opener
Hause scores 26 points against Narragansett
LEOMINSTER » Peering over masks in front of empty bleachers, there was understandable trepidation on the faces of several young men standing on the basketball court at Leominster High School Monday evening.
New rules and regulation, an environment scrubbed clean of what’s considered normal — both figuratively and literally — and rising rates for the virus responsible for all the changes. … There was plenty to be unsure of.
But once the ball hit the hardwood, nerves gave way to muscle memory, with players from both
Leominster High and Narragansett Regional doing what they’d done myriad times in their lives: simply playing a game.
It didn’t take long for the aggressiveness and athleticism of the host Blue Devils to push the hosts in front, as Leominster led from start to finish in a 90-41 victory in the season opener for both teams.
Leominster (1-0) held a doubledigit lead after one quarter, took a 31-point edge to the halftime break and never led by less than 29 in the second half, with eight players scoring.
“We’ve been working really hard in practice for about three weeks now. The kids were really itching to get games going, but we didn’t really know how it would play out because of the restrictions,” Leominster head coach Kevin Grutchfield said. “It took some adjusting, but I think we got better each quarter. We settled down on offense and we’ve got some kids who are aggressive and who can score.”
The two teams play again Thursday in Baldwinville.
Sophomore Chase Hause led the way for Leominster, scoring a game-high 26 points in the victory. His drive at the end of the first quarter capped a 13-2 run over the final 3:49 to put Leominster ahead
24-7.
“Great kid. A sophomore who works his butt off. He was aggressive tonight and attacked the rim,” Grutchfield said of Hause. “He worked hard on defense, got a couple big rebounds as well. I was very impressed with Chase tonight.”
Kevin Viola chipped in with 14 points, Alex Moison had 13, Terrance McCormack chipped in with 12 and Justin Dadah had 10 to round out the Blue Devils in double digits.
“We didn’t have any summer leagues, any fall leagues, any scrimmages, so it’s been an adjustment for these kids. They had a strong effort tonight,” Grutchfield said. “I’m proud of them. They did a good job tonight.”
The hosts put the game out of reach in the second quarter, thanks in large part to seven Narragansett (0-1) turnovers in the period. A circus layup by Viola plus the foul pushed the lead to 29-7 early on and the Blue Devils never relented. Though the Warriors were able to put up some points before the break, the lead continued to grow, with McCormack draining a 3 at the buzzer to push the advantage to 55-24.
Narragansett’s effort was paced by Jake Smith’s team-high 15 points. Ryan Theriault added six in the loss.