Hampden Charter School of Science recovered a from a small halftime deficit and held off Franklin County Technical School, 61-54, in a Tri-County League boys’ basketball game Thursday night at Dunbar Community Center in Springfield.
After a back-and-forth third period, the Eagles (2-5 overall, 1-3 TCL) had pulled even, 44-44, with 5 minutes to go. The Wolves (3-2, 3-0 TCL) retook the lead on a layup, then turned Franklin Tech over and made a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 5 and the Eagles never recovered.
Sam Monette led Hampden Charter with 19 points, Damian Ocasio finished with 18 and Jonathan Rosemond hit for 16. Monette and Rosemond combined for eight 3-pointers.
Colin Gould paced Franklin Tech with 19 points to share game-high honors with Monette. Tyler Hastings drained three trifectas en route to 11 points, Joel Farrick added 8 and Garrett Cole had 7.
“It was a very good, competitive game,” said Eagles head coach Matt Llewelyn. “We played pretty good defense overall, but in the second half they were able to hit some big 3s.”
Another issue for Franklin Tech was free-throw shooting — the Eagles made just 12 of 20 freebies.
“If we made our free throws, we may not have won but we would have had a better chance.”
Franklin Tech hosts Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School tonight at 7.
Mahar 68, Smith Acadey 34 — Unbeaten Mahar Regional School raced out to a 22-7 lead after one quarter and cruised to a 68-34 Hampshire League boys’ basketball victory over Smith Academy Thursday night at Sherry Webb Gymnasium in Hatfield.
Isaak Reinikainen led the Senators (9-0 overall, 6-0 HL) with a game-high 17 points and 8 rebounds. Bryce Cleveland continued his solid play with 16 points and 7 boards, while Brennan Mailloux and Sam Paul each threw in 9 points. Quinn Gervais added 8 rebounds.
Jack Zygmont netted 13 points and Nick Leary added 12 pojnts for the Falcons (1-6, 0-5).
Pioneer 79, Athol 18 — Tucker Llewelyn drained a game-high 21 points to power Pioneer Valley Regional School to a 79-18 win over Athol High School in an HL boys’ basketball contest Thursday night at Mallet Gymnasium in Athol.
Hunter Cote drained a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, Brendan Emond notched 8 points and Jacob Hill pitched in with 7 points for the Panthers, who led 28-4 after one quarter and 44-7 at intermission.
Justin Hubbard, Garrett Cote and Nic Williams all contributed 6 points.
Justin Blake totaled 5 points and Avery Clyatt, Isaac Raulston and Mark Ferrari all had 3 foer the Red Raiders (0-8, 0-5).
Hopkins 97, Mohawk 30 — Sami Roe poured in a game-high 29 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead unbeaten Hopkins Academy past Mohawk Trail Regional High School, 97-30, in a HL boys’ basketball game Thursday night in Buckland.
Roe, who was one steal away from a triple-double (10 assists, 9 steals), was one of five players to reach double figures for the Golden Hawks (6-0, 4-0). John Earle drained 19 points, Jon Morrison tossed in 18, Irvin Compass finished with 14 in his Hopkins debut, and Justin Ciaglo hit for 13.
Matt Finck dropped in 8 points and Jonny Herbert and Adam Hallenback both added 5 for the Warriors, who trailed 54-8 at halftime.
Mohawk travels to Greenfield High School Monday night at 7.
Charlemont 16, BART 14 — The Academy at Charlemont held Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School scoreless in overtime and held on for a 16-14 win in River Valley Athletic League girls’ basketball action thurday in Charlemont.
Eliza Bigelow led a balanced effort with 4 points and 6 rebounds, and Sylvie Mauri added 4 points and 4 rebounds.
Macy Kasbo (8), Ruby Chase (6), Cristy Kasbo (5) and Elaina Gibb-Buursma (4) combined for 23 steals and stellar defense.