Blue Devils play with urgency in win
Leominster steamrolls Chicopee Comp in tourney opener
Not all 10-10 teams are created equal.
Leominster High proved that in a Division 2 preliminary round game against Chicopee Comp Wednesday evening, taking control in the early stages and cruising to an 87-35 victory on Wednesday night.
The 25th- seeded Blue Devils improve to 11-10 and advance to face No. 8 Wakefield Memorial Friday at 7 p.m. The Colts, seeded 40th, close their season at 10-11.
On the night, 11 Leominster players scored, with seniors Justin Dadah Jr. and Terrance Mc
Cormack leading the way. Dadah poured in a game-high 28 points, while Mccormack added 26 as the Blue Devils rolled.
“The seniors had a sense of urgency. We’ve taken it on the chin here a couple times against some good teams and we know if we lose now, we’re done,” Leominster head coach Kevin Grutchfield said. “They came to play tonight. Dadah stepped up when we needed him to and we had contributions from a lot of guys.”
Leominster raced out to an 18-7 lead after one before Dadah and Mccormack put the game away prior to halftime. Dadah, the newest member of the Blue Devils’ 1,000-point club, scored 11 of his team’s first 12 points in the quarter.
Not to be outdone, Mccormack two of his seven 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Blue Devils took a 46-13 lead to the break.
The hosts took advantage of 12 turnovers in the first half and 23 in the game by the Colts.
“We knew going in that they didn’t have a specific point guard and that we could pressure them. That was the plan going in,” Grutchfield said. “We wanted to get them to turn the ball over and get some quick hoops off that. And when we weren’t in transition, we wanted to be patient and get good shots.”
Senior Chase Hause added six points and eight rebounds for the Blue Devils. Classmate Ricky Encarna
cion chipped in with five points, as did sophomore Jayden Johnson off the bench.
Leominster was never
threatened in the second half, even as the Colts opened the third quarter on an 8-1 run. The Blue Devils led 6932 after three, as Hause drained a putback after a Johnson miss at the buzzer.
The Blue Devil faithful did get reason to erupt late, as Leominster emptied its bench with four minutes remaining and each reserve received thunderous applause after a made basket. None was louder than after sophomore Reid Richard notched his lone hoop with 3:12 left, pushing the Leominster advantage to 81- 38.
Leominster’s bench players closed the game on an 8- 3 run over the final 3:55 to seal the win.
Tineus Mccluster led Chicopee with 15 points.