Luke Steinman scored 26 points on Tuesday night and Wahconah Regional School defeated Mohawk Trail Regional High School, 57-43, in an independent boys’ basketball game in Buckland.
Wahconah jumped out to a 16-point lead early and Mohawk was able to cut the deficit down to four points in the second half but that was as close as the hosts came.
Mohawk (1-2) also struggled handling the ball for the third time this season, as the team is averaging over 20 turnovers a game through the first three games of the year.
“You can tell that we’re young in terms of experience,” Mohawk coach Fred Redeker said. “Our defense was much improved tonight, but we are having a hard time scoring.”
Torsten Sloan-Anderson continued to impress for Mohawk as he poured in 21 points to go with 15 boards and five blocked shots. He got some support from Ian Eckler, who netted 13 points, but that was about it on offense. Matt Finck scored 5 poitns, and two others had 2 apiece.
Brandon Roughley netted 16 points for Wahconah, and Connor Washburn added 9 points.
Turners 77, Murdock 65 — Josh Obuchowski had a double-double with 25 points and 11 boards and Turners Falls High School opened the season with a 77-65 victory over Murdock High School in an independent game Tuesday in Turners Falls.
Murdock led 18-16 after the first quarter but the Indians turned it on in the second quarter as Obuchowski scored 12 of his 25 in the frame as the Indians outscored the Blue Devils, 29-11, to take control of the game.
Another thing that was working for the Indians was the passing game, which produced 29 assists on 32 field goals, including a whooping 14 from point guard Tionne Brown. The Indians scored 19 field goals in the first half and had 17 assists in that time.
“I love teams that pass the ball, the most important word in our team’s dictionary is ‘pass,’” Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins said.
Nick Croteau also had a huge night for the Indians, knocking down five 3-pointers en route to 19 points. Javoni Williams added 8 points and 10 rebounds, Tyler Lavin tossed in 8 points, and Kyle Bergmann chipped in 7.
Ryan Kaminsky led Murdock with 15 points.
Mahar 67, Belchertown 35 — Mahar Regional School continued its early-season scoring barrage and it dispatched Belchertown High School, 67-35, in an independent boys’ game Tuesday night in Belchertown.
The Senators, who have been known more for their defense than their offense in recent years, eclipsed the 60-point mark for the second time this season. The game was never in question, as Mahar allowed 11 first-half points and held a 32-11 lead at the break.
“It was a good effort tonight, I’m happy with the way we played,” Mahar coach Chad Softic said.
The Senators got a balanced offensive effort in the win. Bryce Cleveland led the way with 17 points, and Issak Reinikainen hit a pair of 3s en route to 15 points and 9 rebounds. Gabe O’Lari was close to a triple-double but settled for a 10-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist stat line. Sam Paul added 9 points, and point guard Brennan Mailloux had 2 points to go with 5 assists, 5 steals and — most importantly to Softic — no turnovers.
Michael Laughner led Belchertown with 7 points.
Lee 38, Turners 35 — Lee High School outscored Turners Falls, 16-7, in the fourth quarter to come from behind and earn a 38-35 victory in an independent girls’ basketball game Tuesday night in Lee.
The Indians held a 14-12 lead at halftime and extended it to 28-22 entering the fourth quarter but the Wildcats roared back to earn the victory. Brianna Hawley had 6 of her game-high 16 points for Lee in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think there is a moral victory to take out of this,” Turners Falls coach Ted Wilcox said. “We are too good of a team for that.”
Wilcox admitted that he was proud of the effort, particularly from Aliyah Sanders and Kylie Fleming. Sanders stepped up her offensive game to lead the Indians with 13 points, while Fleming had a huge game defensively, limiting Lee leading scorer Karli Retzal to just 4 points — all on free throws.
“I was pretty proud of them, this is one of the best Division IV teams we are going to play all season,” he said. “Defensively, Fleming was awesome. Retzal is one of the best players in western Mass.”
Fleming had 10 rebounds and 3 assists to go with 2 points. Maddy Chmyzinski, who led Turners Falls in scoring last season, was keyed on by the Lee defense all night, but still managed to scored 10 points, and Chloe Ellis added 7. Sanders shot 6-of-7 from the field and also pulled down 4 rebounds.
Kendra Williams added 9 points in the win.
Hopkins 60, FC Tech 15 — Sam Jenks scored 16 points on Tuesday and Hopkins Academy cruised to a 60-15 win over Franklin County Technical School in an independent girls’ basketball game in Hadley.
Jocelyn Crowningshield led Franklin Tech (1-2) with 6 points, and Isabelle Duga added 4 points.