GRANBY — When Granby head coach Dylan Dubuc looked back at the film from the Rams’ Western Mass. Class C championship game loss to Mahar over the weekend, he saw a team that had strayed from its identity. 

Normally a fast-paced, transition-happy group, the Rams tried to slow the game down against the top-seeded Senators and ended up losing by 13 points.

As No. 9 Granby prepared for its opening game in the MIAA Division 5 state tournament against No. 24 Avon, Dubuc wasn’t going to make the same mistake.

“I was like ‘man, if we’re going to go down, let’s go down fighting,’” Dubuc said. “We’re not great in the halfcourt, so if we can speed the game up, get transition points, some drive and kick shots, open up some threes, let’s go that way.”

Against Avon at home on Thursday night, Granby returned to its winning formula, running in transition and locking down the Panthers on the defensive end to advance to the Sweet 16 with a 61-50 win.

Nene Fernandez led all scorers with 26 points, while also dishing out six assists and grabbing five rebounds. He stretched Avon’s transition defense every chance he got.

“If we pushed more (against Mahar), it would’ve helped us a lot,” Fernandez said. “When we push, I think we’re at our best.”

Despite their position as a No. 24 seed, Avon had only lost four games all season coming into Thursday night – one fewer than Granby, which was seeded 15 spots higher because of its tougher schedule. 

Dubuc watched Avon’s preliminary round win and came away impressed with the team’s talent despite their seed. But he also knew that the Panthers were down one of their big men. If the Rams rebounded well and made the Panthers work for their shots, they could expose them on the fastbreak.

“We saw on film they lacked transition defense,” Fernandez said. “So the gameplan was to get rebounds and push.”

After a tight first half where Fernandez was responsible for 15 of Granby’s 26 points, the team’s secondary options were the difference in the second half. Eleven points from Sawyer Clarke – all in the second half – in addition to a pair of blocks inside and staunch defense on Avon second-leading scorer Josiah Guerrier were key to the Rams pulling away after the break.

“Sawyer Clarke came alive,” Dubuc said. “That’s something we haven’t seen from him, but he’s capable of.”

Next up, Granby travels to No. 8 Hopedale, who defeated No. 25 Innovation Academy 57-32 Thursday night in its Round of 32 game. Dubuc has seen Hopedale play once this season, and noted their zone defense and length.