SPRINGFIELD — There is no doubt that the No. 8 seed Mohawk Trail Regional School boys basketball team came to play Friday night.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, top-seed Sabis International Charter School proved to be too much for them to handle in the second half, taking care of business and defeating the Warriors, 68-52, in the quarterfinals of the Western Mass. Division III Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Warriors came out strong and controlled the tempo in the first quarter, preventing the Bulldogs from finding a rhythm. Senior center Jacob Cross got the scoring started with a left-side layup after a defensive stop off of the opening tip.
After falling behind 5-2, senior point guard and captain Levin DuPree hit a pair of 10-footers, the first a kiss off the glass and the second getting nothing but net to put the Warriors up 6-5.
Mohawk would take a 14-10 lead to under a minute in the frame, when Bulldogs standout guard Nathan Colon hit his second three-ball to cut the Mohawk lead to 14-13 as the quarter came to a close.
The Warriors picked up where they left off in the second, taking advantage of an 11-4 run at the start, and had an eight-point lead at 25-17 at the 1:55 mark. What was most impressive about the run is that DuPree, who had looked unstoppable, had to take a seat with foul trouble early in the period, and the Warriors did not miss a beat with junior guard Daniel Szafran controlling the ball.
Sabis would narrow the margin as Colon would drain another pair of treys as the half wound down, but Mohawk’s junior forward Ian Eckler would drain a three-pointer of his own to end the scoring in the half, and the Warriors took a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
The good times for the Warriors would hit a screeching halt as the third quarter got underway, however, as Sabis came out of the locker room with a plan to change the pace, and it did just that. The Bulldogs would go on a 17-2 run to start the frame, taking a 10-point lead at 41-31 with 3:15 remaining. Nine of those points came from Bulldogs big man Justin Rennis, who was able to drive the lane and score, 7.
“It got away from us a little bit, the tempo changed, we knew that would happen if we tried to run with them,” said Redeker. “We just couldn’t keep it up.”
The Bulldogs kept on pushing inside for the remainder of the period, until their last possession of the quarter. With 20 seconds left, Colon launched a trey from the left side which looked to be off line, but it banked in off the glass for his fifth three-ball of the night to that point. Sabis took a 13-point lead and all of the momentum with them into the fourth.
Mohawk would never let up, and went on a 10-6 run to begin the final frame, cutting the deficit to 57-48 with 3:50 left. The Bulldogs finished with an 11-4 run.
“I’m happy with the way we played,” said Redeker. “There’s a reason that they’re the one seed. Colon was outstanding, I don’t think he had had a shooting night like this all year. Then the bigs got wild, and we got out of our game plan a little bit.”
Colon led all scorers with 28, including seven 3-pointers. Rennis added 26 for the Bulldogs.
Five seniors played their last game for the Warriors: Cross (team-high 14 points), DuPree (8), Justin Ward (4), Colton Yezierski (4) and Gabe Seaver (2). Juniors Ian Eckler and Torsten Sloan Anderson each dropped in two treys for the Warriors.
“I have nothing but great things to say about my guys tonight,” said Redeker. “They came in and got a lead on the road, but that’s hard to maintain. Again, that team is the number one seed for a reason.”