CHESHIRE -- Everything was going right for the Hoosac Valley boys' basketball team to start Thursday night.
The Hurricanes built a quick lead and had all the momentum. It didn't last for long, however. Pittsfield's Amancho Adopo stole the show for the Generals, as they ran past Hoosac 66-44.
He did get some help from his teammates -- Aaron Bradley scored 19 points -- but Adopo dominated the night. He scored a game-high 24 points, snatched 21 rebounds and dished the ball away for 11 assists on his way to a triple-double.
"We go as he goes, obviously," Pittsfield coach Steve Ray said. "He's been putting up triple-doubles every night for us."
Adopo started slow, but came on strong at the end of the first quarter. He scored four points and pulled down four rebounds in the final two minutes of the quarter.
"I'm proud of myself," Adopo said. "I'm a guard so it's a big accomplishment for me to have a lot of rebounds. A lot of my offense starts from them."
Hoosac's Matt Braman and Corey Puccio dominated the early part of the first quarter for the Hurricanes. Puccio scored nine points, including two 3-pointers. Braman had eight points. Despite not scoring in the first quarter, Trevor Alibozek also had a strong start. He pulled down several of his 13 rebounds in the first eight
The Hurricanes started with a 12-4 run on their way to a 17-11 advantage after one quarter.
Then things went south.
"We got out of our focus," Braman said. "We started to tense up and didn't play loose like we were in the first quarter. We didn't play Hurricane basketball."
Hoosac scored just four points in the second quarter. They added only six in the third. Pittsfield responded with 11 points in the second and 20 in the third.
Adopo had 14 points in that time span.
"[Pittsfield] went to a 1-3-1 zone and we stopped playing offense," Hoosac coach Bill Robinson said. "We're not getting any offensive rebounds at all. We're not hitting the glass at all. It's one shot and done every time. That's our problem."
The defensive change was key for Pittsfield in turning the slow start into a dominating performance. Puccio didn't hit another shot until the fourth quarter. Braman was held to just two points in the second. Only six Hurricanes registered points on the night.
"It was our defense," Adopo said. "It's all defense. We scored off our defense. That's what we do best, we push the ball."
Rebounding was also a main difference. In addition to Adopo's 21, six other Generals had rebounds. Bradley had nine on the night.
For Hoosac, seven players grabbed a rebound, but only two had two or more. Alibozek led the way with 13 and Andrew Milesi had four.
"Adopo, you saw him go to the glass today," Robinson said. "Every time they missed a shot, Adopo was going from the top of the key or the wing to the glass. Our guys just stand and watch.
"If Trevor doesn't rebound for us, we don't get a rebound, at least that's what it seems like."
To reach Sam Monroe, email
smonroe@thetranscript.com.
On Twitter: @NAT_DigitalSam
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