Late surge sends Wave, Thomas to first win

Trailing 45-44 entering the fourth quarter, the Greenfield High School boys basketball team ramped up the defensive intensity to rally and pick up its first win of the season Thursday.

The Green Wave held host Franklin Tech to just five points in the final stanza, outscoring the Eagles by an 18-5 margin over the game’s final eight minutes to capture a 62-50 independent victory in Turners Falls.

“We made some adjustments starting midway through the third quarter,” offered Greenfield coach Angelo Thomas. “The guys made some plays. There was progress made throughout the game.”

The win was the first in the Thomas era as Greenfield’s varsity coach.

“It feels good and it feels good for the guys, too,” explained Thomas of the team’s first victory. “We talked after about how it’s a whole lot better to be 1-1 than 0-2. That’s a good team, though. Franklin Tech is going to make some noise and win a lot of games this year.”

Senior Owen Phelps played all 32 minutes and poured in 20 points to pace the Wave (1-1), leading four players in double figures. Jared Hart (11 points), Hunter Campbell (10) and Mason Meadows (10) also aided the offensive effort. Jake Sak added 6 points to go with his normal tenacious effort on both ends of the floor. Thomas point to a key moment when Sak converted a three-point play on one end and took a charge on the other end.

Greenfield led 32-30 at halftime before Franklin Tech (1-2) took a one-point lead into the fourth after outscoring the Wave by a 15-12 margin in the third.

Garret Cole was the high-scorer for the Eagles, dropping 18 points to lead the charge, while Jared Bergmann added 10 points and Cole Littlewood followed with 8.

“These players really showed a lot about who they want to be,” lauded Franklin Tech coach Tim Artus of his squad. “There’s a lot to build on here.”

Pioneer 77, Duggan 48 — Behind a balanced effort that saw five players finish in double figures, Pioneer won its second game in the row thanks to a 77-48 independent win over Duggan Academy Thursday at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.

Zack Fox led the way with 16 points for Pioneer (2-1) to go with six rebounds. Jacob Hubbard impressed again with 14 points, five rebounds and four steals, followed by Troy Emond (11 points), Ryan Underwood (10) and Garrett Cote (10). Underwood pulled down 12 rebounds and Cote dished out 10 assists as both went for double-doubles.

Hubbard’s emergence has helped Pioneer, as the freshman has done a little of everything with opposing teams looking to key defensively on Cote.

“He’s been playing well,” lauded Pioneer coach Scott Thayer. “We knew coming in that he could log some pretty good minutes and it’s going to take the pressure off Garrett.”

Lenox 66, Turners 55 — Nick Nicotra registered 21 points, and host Lenox built a nine-point first-quarter lead that kept Turners Falls at arms’ length en route to a 66-55 independent win Thursday.

Shane Steinman (13 points) and Andre Collins (11) finished in double figures for the Millionaires (1-1), which led 19-10 after one and 33-24 at halftime.

Tyler Lavin hit a trio of 3-pointers en route to a team-high 15 points for the Thunder (0-2). Jovanni Ruggiano scored 12 points and Anthony Peterson finished just shy of a double-double with 9 points and 14 rebounds. Kyle Dodge and Jaden Whiting had 8 points apiece in the loss.

Athol 63, St. Mary’s 26 — A big first-half effort propelled Athol to its first victory of the season Thursday night.

The Red Raiders outscored St. Mary’s by a 38-10 margin in the first half, and cruised to a 63-26 win in the semifinals of the Red Raider Holiday Tournament at Mallet Gymnasium. Athol will play Leominster tonight at 7 in the title game.

“It was nice to have some offense tonight,” began Athol coach Dan Bevis. “A lot of that was created by our defense which we’ve been preaching all along.”

Bryce King led the offense with 15 points. Nick Bousquet was close behind with 12 points, while Noah Pottinger added 8.

Girls basketball

Pioneer 32, Southwick 24 — It’s not often you can score one point in a quarter and still win a basketball game.

The Pioneer girls accomplished just that Thursday, as the Panthers overcame an 8-1 deficit in the third quarter and locked down defensively to hold off Southwick, 32-24, in a key early-season Franklin County League South contest in Southwick.

“The girls learned from their loss the previous night,” Pioneer coach Meg Burrington said, referring to Wednesday’s loss to McCann. “They hit free throws and played hard defense in the second half and ultimately prevailed.”

Pioneer (2-1, 1-0) did the bulk of its damage in the first half, storming to a 20-9 halftime advantage on the road. The Panthers were aggressive and got to the free throw line 27 times. Eighteen of their 32 points came from the charity stripe, with Paige Loughman leading the way with a 12-for-16 outing there. The point guard scored all 12 of her points at the line.

Olivia Rowe controlled the interior to the tune of 8 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks. Loughman added 12 rebounds and eight steals and Steph Scoville added 5 points and seven boards.

Greenfield 62, FC Tech 50

Greenfield (62)

Vega 1-0—2, Sak 1-4—6, Haselton 0-1—1, Phelps 7-5—20, Meadows 4-1—10, Campbell 4-0—10, Cote 0-2—2, Hart 5-1—11, Brewington. Totals 22-14–62.

FC Tech (50)

Hastings 0-2—2, Bergmann 4-2—10, Maniatty 2-2—6, Cole 8-0—18, Littlewood 3-2—8, Charest 2-2—6, Vielmetti-Perusse, LaClaire. Totals: 19-10–50.

3-Point Goals: (G) Phelps, Meadows, Campbell 2. (FT) Cole 2.

Score by quarters:

Pioneer 77, Duggan 48

Duggan (48)

Austin 7-4—20, Chapman 1-0—2, Green 2-2—6, Nguyen 2-0—4, Westin 3-1—7, Burton 1-6—8, Fortunatti 0-1—1. Totals 16-14–48.

Pioneer (77)

J. Fox 2-0—4, Emond 5-0—11, Hubbard 5-1—14, Potter, Fuller 2-1—5, Cote 4-1—10, Underwood 3-3—10, Z. Fox 7-2—16, Curtis 0-2—2, Dobosz 0-2—2, Emberley 1-1—3. Totals: 29-13–77.

3-Point Goals: (D) Austin 2. (P) Emond, Underwood, Cote, Hubbard 3.

Score by quarters:

Lenox 66, Turners 55

Turners (55)

Lavin 5-2—15, Russell 1-0—3, K. Dodge 3-2—8, Whiting 4-0—8, Ruggiano 5-2—12, Peterson 3-2—9, Driscoll, Waldron, Duclos. Totals 21-8–55.

Lenox (66)

S. Steinman 4-2—13, J. Steinman 2-0—6, Patella 1-1—3, Nicotra 7-5—21, Collins 4-2—11, Paradise 2-3—7, Fielding 2-0—5. Totals: 22-13–66.

3-Point Goals: (TF) Lavin 3, Russell, Peterson. (L) S. Steinman 3, J. Steinman 2, Nicotra 2, Collins, Fielding.

Score by quarters:

Athol 63, St. Mary’s 26

St. Mary’s (26)

Collins 1-2—5, Willenbourg 1-2—4, Blanchard 3-1—7, Pepe 1-3—5, Nelson 2-0—4, Montenero 0-1—1. Totals 8-9–26.

Athol (63)

King 5-3—15, Lutz 1-0—3, Arias 1-0—2, Paine 2-2—6, Pottinger 4-0—8, Bousquet 5-0—12, Stevens 1-0—2, Tarbell 2-1—5, LaMarsh 0-1—1, Heath 0-4—4, Gordon 1-2—5. Totals: 22-13–63.

3-Point Goals: (SM) Collins. (A) King 2, Bousquet 2, Lutz, Gordon.

Score by quarters:

GIRLS GAMES

Pioneer 32, Southwick 24

Pioneer (32)

Loughman 0-12—12, Tibbetts 0-1—1, Ellis 2-0—5, Scoville 1-3—5, Rowe 4-0—8, Kimball, Faille 0-2—2, Briggs, Flagg, Cecunjanin, Kahler. Totals 7-18–32.

Southwick (24)

Alev 2-1—6, Martin 1-1—4, Wurster 2-0—6, St. Jacques 1-0—2, Andrade 1-1—3, Burke 1-0—2, Heseltine 0-1—1. Totals: 8-4–24.

3-Point Goals: (P) Ellis. (S) Alev, Martin, Wurster 2.

Score by quarters: