By Steve Kendall
HOLDEN -- With 12:06 left to play and with his team tied at 45 with winless Wachsusett Regional, Fitchburg High boys' basketball coach Doug Grutchfield called a timeout and basically read his team the riot act.
Whatever he told his players, it worked, as the Red Raiders went on a 16-2 run and coasted to a 79-60 win over the Mountaineers Tuesday night.
"I just explained to them they needed to work harder," said Grutchfield. "We came in here thinking all we needed to do was show up and we'd win. We played lazy. But we learned that you have to work hard all the time to win."
"They really turned it on after the timeout," said Wachusett coach BRian O'Brien. "We were playing solid defense, but they just started to hit everything. They are an excellent team."
Defense and a balanced scoring attack led the Red Raiders over the final 12 minutes. Fitchburg forced 12 WAchusett turnovers during that span and seven different players scored.
The Morales brothers, Ricky and Tito led the Red Raiders (4-0) on both ends of the court. Ricky had 23 points and seven steals while Tito tossed in 14 points to go with his six steals and five rebounds.
Ray Gonzales also had a big offensive game, tossing in four three-pointers for 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds, while Dan Schneider added 12 points. Guard Kevin Keenan chipped in with 8 points and 11 assists.
"Teams can't key on one guy against us," said Grutchfield. "We have a number of guys who can score, which we showed tonight."
Fitchburg jumped out to an early 18-12 lead on the strength of strong starts by Ricky Morales and Gonzales. But, just as it appeared Fitchburg would run away and hide from the Mountaineers (7-0), the Red Raiders suddenly went cold -- scoring just five points over the next 6:30.
Wachusett, meanwhile was on fire from the field. Chris Steele (8 points) and Nick Police each knocked down two three-pointers while Chris Ethier scored six straight points as the Mountaineers went on a 21-7 run to take a 36-27 lead with 3:30 left in the half.
But Fitchburg fought back with a 10-1 run over the final 1:36 to tie the game at 37. Ricky Morales had the key play, picking Jeff Cross' pocket before going in for an easy layup and a foul with four seconds left. He missed the free throw, but Keenan grabbed the rebound and hit his jumper at the buzzer to tie the game.
"I was very nervous," said Grutchfield. "Wachusett was playing really well and they had us going for awhile. I give them a lot of credit, they're a well-coached team."
Fitchburg continued its sloppy play into the second half, but after the talk by Grutchfield with 12 minutes to go, the Raiders caught on fire and never looked back. "The kids worked hard after the timeout," said Grutchfield. "We got the ball inside, which is our strength and got more aggressive on the boards. We did a good job of rebounding in the second half after they killed us on the boards in the first half."