The good news is that in the grand scheme of things Wednesday night’s 57-24 loss to Mount Greylock Regional School has no bearing on Greenfield High School’s postseason prospects.
The Green Wave would’ve preferred a better performance, however, as the visiting Mounties held Greenfield to seven points or less in all four quarters during a dominant independent boys’ basketball effort at Nichols Gymnasium.
“They’re definitely a tournament team and one with a good shot to make it to the Cage, and we played December basketball tonight,” explained Greenfield head coach Tim Caplice. “We were sloppy with the ball, rushed shots early. We got down and had that negative outlook.”
Mount Greylock (11-6) stormed out to a 20-5 lead after one quarter and cruised from there, carrying a 32-12 advantage into halftime.
“We had the scouting report on Mount Greylock. We knew they were going to come in and hit us in the mouth right away,” Caplice said. “We turned the ball over the first three possessions and that sort of set the tone for how the first quarter played out.”
Fresh off a huge victory over Frontier Regional School Monday night, Greenfield (6-13) struggled in its bid to win a fourth consecutive game.
“We were riding pretty high Monday night,” admitted Caplice. “But I certainly wasn’t overlooking Greylock. They were a great test for us and we wanted to use the game as a gauge for us in relation to see how we stack up to some tournament teams.”
Mason Meadows led the offense with 8 points for Greenfield, while Jake Sak added 6 points. Jake Suhl and Colin Cloutier each sank a 3-pointer in the loss.
Toby Foehl and Brady Foehl combined for 24 points to lead the Mounties.
The loss aside, Greenfield has everything to play for in its regular-season finale Monday night on the road at Athol High School. A win and the Wave secures a postseason berth, as they’ll finish in at least a tie for second place in the Hampshire League North. They can still get in with a loss and some help.
“We understand the magnitude of Monday’s game,” Caplice said. “The kids are excited about it. They’ve endured a lot, winning only one game in January. To have a chance to control their fate and earn a berth, they’re excited.”
Pioneer 59, Granby 25 — There was no looking ahead for Pioneer Valley Regional School Wednesday night.
With a huge Hampshire League South game against Mahar Regional School on the horizon for tonight, the Panthers still took care of business Wednesday in a big way. Seven different players scored at least 6 points, and balanced Pioneer cruised past Granby High School, 59-25, in an independent boys’ basketball game at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.
Pioneer (14-5) got off to a 16-9 lead after one quarter and outscored Granby by a 17-4 margin in the second to put things out of reach with a 33-13 halftime advantage.
Pioneer’s balanced effort put no players in double-figure scoring. Garrett Cote sank three 3-pointers and led the way with 9 points, while Jordan Loughman, Brendan Emond and Mike Menard all scored 8 points. Cody Letourneau registered 7 points, and Karl Wheeler and Ryan Underwood each had 6.
“We got out of it healthy and now we’re ready for a big game against Mahar,” Pioneer coach Scott Thayer said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Mahar won the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 12, a 47-34 victory in Orange.