The defence can't rest

By Adam?Richardson
The News
NEW?GLASGOW - As their game against the Tri-County Mustangs wore on, the Pictou?County Nighthawks ended their huddles with "1,2,3 - defence!"
By the fourth quarter, the players got the message, and the Nighthawks were able to corral the Mustangs for good in an 83-70 victory to open up the Division 3 midget boys basketball provincials at New Glasgow Junior High gym last night.
"We were really flat coming out, and (the Mustangs) played a straight, nothing fancy, drive-to-the-hoop kind of game, and we didn't play enough defence for three quarters," said Brian Works, head coach of the Nighthawks. "Once we picked up our intensity, away we went."
The game featured a contrast of styles, with the much larger Tri-County squad scoring their points down low, and Pictou?County content to sharpshoot from the perimeter. Ryan Moore was particularly tough for Pictou County to stop, finishing with a game-high 31 points.
But the host team proved resilient, benefitting from 27 points by David Benoit and 26 more from?Grayson MacDonald. Kris Works chipped-in 18, and was named player-of-the-game for his squad.
"I think we could've boxed out better, but it was hard because they were pretty big," said Benoit. "We don't have size, so we can't get in much. Without Chris Henderson, we have almost no size, and that's our main downfall."
Speaking of that downfall, Henderson took a blow to the throat in the third quarter, and left for the hospital after experiencing some swelling.
Pictou?County will have to wait and see if he's in the lineup when the team plays this morning against Bedford at 9 a.m., then meets the Community Y Panthers at 5:45 p.m. Both of those contests will be played at Northumberland Regional High School, where the tournament shifts for today's action and Sunday's playoff round.
If the Nighthawks plan on reaching the semifinals, they'll likely need a split from those games.
"That's why we picked it up in the fourth quarter," Benoit said. "If we lost this game, we're pretty much done."
The final goes Sunday at 3:15 p.m. in Alma.