Turners Falls High School scored 33 points in the first quarter to jump all over crosstown rival Franklin County Technical School early and the Indians rolled to a 84-53 win in independent boys’ basketball play Tuesday night at Franklin Tech.
The Indians’ (3-0) led 33-13 after the first quarter and 50-29 at the break thanks to a tremendous start on offense. Franklin Tech coach Matt Llewelyn continued to be upset by his team’s defensive effort through four games, which left the defending Tri-County League champion Eagles at 1-3 on the season.
“I wouldn’t say absent, it’s been non-existent,” Llewelyn said of the defense. “We let Turners score 33 points in the first quarter. NBA teams don’t do that. You multiply that by four and what do you get? 132 points. It’s a lack of intensity. It’s a lack of everything. Yeah, we played on back-to-back nights, but these are high school kids and they are in great shape.
“Turners Falls came in and did not want to lose to a Tri-County Technical school and they came ready to play. This was a big opportunity for us. It was a non-Tri-County League team from around here. It was a good opportunity for us to play some tough competition and we blew it.”
Even though Llewelyn was not pleased, he also said it was no time to panic. He reminded his players that they also sat at 1-3 through four games last season — playing pretty much the same four teams — and the team went on to finish 16-4 and win the TCL for the first time in 30 years.
“We are going to relax, we are not going to press the panic button,” Llewelyn said. “We don’t want our kids, our fans, to get discouraged.”
Tionne Brown led the Indians with 17 points, and Josh Obuchowski netted 15. Jovani Williams and Tyler Lavin each scored 12 points, and Kyle Bergmann had 10 points.
Colin Gould led all scorers with 23 points in the loss. Joel Farrick netted 10 points, and Jared Bergmann tossed in 8.
Pioneer 71, Renaissance 52 — Pioneer Valley Regional School got the effort it was looking for at both ends of the court on Tuesday night and the Panthers got their first win of the season with a 71-52 victory over Renaissance School in an independent boys’ game in Springfield.
The Panthers started out the season 0-2 and had trouble putting things together at both ends of the floor in the first two games. In the season opener against West Springfield High School, the Panthers got the offense but not the defense in a 79-66 loss, and on Monday night the Panthers played better defensively but struggled on offense in a 56-53 loss to Mahar Regional School. Things came together for Pioneer in Game 3, and it’s a trend first-year coach Scott Thayer hopes will continue.
“We had sustained energy level and focus tonight,” Thayer began. “Our defense won it for us in the second half. Against Mahar, I was pleased with the improvement we made from the first game, and that continued. It was nice to get that first win.”
Pioneer led 36-29 at halftime but used a 15-9 edge in scoring in the third to take control of the game. Another huge difference-maker in the win was center Brendan Emond, who had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
“If Brendan plays that way, we’ll be tough,” Thayer said. “All the teams that we’ve played this year have been physical and aggressive, and when you have a low-post presence it makes a difference.”
Tucker Llewelyn led the Panthers with 20 points and came away with 9 boards, and Tyler Martin filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Jake Willis chiped in 9 points.
Wahconah 44, Frontier 43 — Wahconah Regional High School opened up an 11-point lead after the first quarter and held off a Frontier comeback attempt to claim a 44-43 independent girls’ basketball win Tuesday night in Dalton.
Wahconah led 21-10 after the first quarter but the Frontier defense stiffened from there and never allowed the Warriors to score more than 9 points in any of the final three quarters.
That helped the Red Hawks (1-1) chip away at the lead and with about three minutes to play, Frontier managed to tie the score. The Hawks had chances to take the lead, but were never able to do so, and Wahconah wound up with the one-point victory.
“The kids played very well,” Frontier coach Marty Sanderson said. “We knew going to Wahconah, which had everybody back this season, that if we would have a chance to win the game in the final minutes, we would be pleased.”
Ashley Zink and Emmy Cote each had 12 points to pace Wahconah.
Ella Deane led Frontier with 11 points and 3 assists, and Lisa Portier had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Lexa Boyden finished with 8 points and 5 boards, and Marie Diemand finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Greenfield 76, Smith Academy 22 — Samantha Smith scored 20 points on Tuesday night and Greenfield High School cruised to a 76-22 win over Smith Academy in the Franklin County League South Division opener at Nichols Gymnasium in Greenfield.
Raegan Hickey finished with 18 points in the win, Kirsten Ward netted 10 points, and Katie Haselton finished with 7.
Olivia Cavanaugh and Emma Kelly each had 8 points in the loss.
Pope Francis 63, Mohawk 28 — Megan Driscoll scored 23 points on Tuesday night as Pope Francis High School dumped Mohawk Trail Regional High School, 63-28, in an independent girls’ basketball game in Chicopee.
Chelsea Velazquez added 20 points for Pope Francis, which held Mohawk to just 8 points in the first half and led 30-8 at the break.
Grace Poplawski led Mohawk with 10 points, while Emma Reid and Ashley Reynolds each had 5.