Tigers down Saints in rivalry showdown
Robles’ 27 powers Voke to victory
By PETER FRANCIS
Intern
WESTFIELD – Cold winter nights are always the best environment for hotly contested high school basketball games, and last night was no exception. The Tigers of Westfield Vocational-Technical High squared off against cross-town rival St. Mary’s in a boy’s hoops contest, emerging victorious 67-54, thanks in large part to a Herculean effort from Voke junior Bryan Robles, whose 27 points would rev the Tigers engine the entire night.
The contest was billed as a match-up of contrasting styles as Coach Jim Sheridan’s Saints, with their brand of fundamentally sound finesse ball, would have to slow down the track meet that first year Voke coach Kyle Dulude hoped to employ with his run-and-gun offense.
The Tigers started the game hot, as Robles reeled off eight straight of his own, including two 3-pointers. However, the Saints settled in and went on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter, as the junior backcourt duo of Anthony Garde and Matt Plasse scored 4 and 8 points, respectively during the run.
As the second quarter began, Garde continued to ramp up the pace, displaying sublime passing in the half court, and even going coast to coast for a lay up of his own. The Saints maintained their lead through solid post work from forwards Dave Labrecque, Brandon Mickavey, and Mike Sheridan, as the trio wreaked havoc under the basket, drawing fouls, snapping up rebounds, and extending Saints’ possessions.
But Robles continued his scoring assault, however, keeping the Tigers afloat despite the turnover clinic they conducted in the first half. The first half ended with the Saints ahead of the home squad 31-28.
As is often the case with many great basketball games, it was a tale of two halves, however, as the Tigers came out fired up, thanks to Coach Dulude’s halftime speech. “I just preached discipline and mental toughness,” the first year skipper said, “they took my words to heart.”
The Tigers put the clamps to the Saints in the third quarter, holding them to eight points and scoring 17 of their own to take the lead for good, with buckets from Logan Vanveldhuizen, Ralfy Ayala and Greg Bonneau, who would score 11, 18 and 6 points, respectively, to go along with the Bryan Robles show.
“We played great team ball tonight,” the junior guard said after the game, “we gave 100 percent tonight.”
Garde paced the Saints with 15, and also received 11 from Labrecque, whose interior toughness helped the Saints build their first half lead. St. Mary’s endured a quiet 11 point night from Plasse, who has emerged as a lethal shooter and the Saints most consistent offensive threat, but who had trouble with the physicality of the Tigers’ guards.
After the game, coach Dulude was all smiles.
“We’re one step closer to .500,” Dulude said, “I hope we can play well enough to qualify for the Western Mass tournament. We have 10 guys who all come to practice and work hard. We’ve battled through a lot of adversity this season, and guys have stepped up accordingly.”
Westfield Voke improved to 5-6, while St. Mary’s fell to 2-10. Both teams are off until Thursday, when Voke hosts Smith Voke in another big rivalry game at home, and St. Mary’s faces Pathfinder at Westfield South Middle School.
