The Commerce Red Raiders's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They took a 69-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of Pittsfield. While losing is never fun, Commerce can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Massachusetts basketball rankings (they are ranked 219th, while Pittsfield is ranked 67th).
Pittsfield's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Makai Shepardson led the charge by scoring 26 points. Those 26 points set a new season-high mark for him. Da'Sean Brown was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.
Commerce bumped their record down to 1-4 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home. As for Pittsfield, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-3.
Commerce will head out on the road to face off against Agawam at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Agawam knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past four games -- so hopefully Commerce likes a good challenge. As for Pittsfield, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Mount Anthony at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
