In a thrilling upset that turned into the closest Day 1 game thus far, Abingdon-Avon handed #4 seeded Pittsfield a 42-34 loss. A seeded team had not lost in the first round of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament since Eureka was upset in 2011. But maybe it wasn’t as much of an upset as it appears…because Abingdon-Avon might’ve just been the best 6-7 team this Webmaster had ever seen. And in actuality, they were just nine points away from being a 9-4 team (after two, three, and four point losses to Orion, West Hancock, and Farmington, respectively). Pittsfield was seeded fourth after a very strong 10-1 start to their season, including wins over other fellow tournament teams Liberty and Southeastern.
The A-Town Tornadoes were led by Kellen Hook’s 12 points. Drew Foutch, Carter Redfern, and Asa Stegall added nine, eight, and seven points, respectively. Jacob Hall’s eight rebounds were a game-high. Foutch pulled down seven boards himself to go with two steals in a nice all-around game. Shooting discipline aided the Tornadoes, as their 45.2% from the floor was nearly 22 points higher than Pittsfield’s 23.9%. The differential in points in the paint (A-Town won that battle, 18-12) nearly accounted for the final score differential.
Pittsfield’s Brennan Tomhave owned the game-high in points with 16, including 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Javan was second on his team in points with six, and also had a team-high six rebounds. Pittsfield did a better job holding onto the ball, as they won the turnover battle, committing just 10 to A-Town’s 16. The lead changed nine times in a game that was close for a majority of the contest.
Abingdon-Avon (7-7) advances to the quarterfinals, where they await the winner of the Macomb/Brown County contest. They will play Game 15, Friday night at 8:00pm. Pittsfield will await the loser of that same Macomb/Brown County game, and will play in Game 11 on Friday afternoon at 1:00pm.
Box Score
Pittsfield Info
Abingdon-Avon Info
Chris Derry
December 28, 2023