Jordan Desrosiers scored seven points in the fourth quarter to help Mahar pull away from Turners Falls, 55-49, in a Hampshire League South Division boys basketball game Thursday night in Grzesik-Bixby Gymnasium in Orange.
Turners Falls (2-4, 0-1) took a 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter and led 41-40 before Mahar took the lead for good. The Senators (4-2, 1-1) led by two points near the midway point of the half when Desrosiers drained a 3-pointer and then scored a breakaway layup on a steal to bring the lead to seven. Turners did not threaten from there.
Mahar coach Chad Softic was disappointed with his team’s high-rate of turnovers, which was a combination of the Turners defense, as well as mistakes by his players.
“It certainly was not the prettiest game, but Turners deserves a lot of credit. They speed you up and we struggled when they did,” he said. “I wasn’t real pleased with our mental toughness and decision making. It was poor all night. Twenty seven turnovers is unacceptable and at times it looked like guys didn’t even want the ball.”
Desrosiers finished with seven points in the fourth quarter and 11 for the game to go along with five assists and four steals. Deven Patch finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Daeson Watson added 8 points. Jakob Carron finished with 2 points and 10 rebounds.
Turners Falls trailed 32-25 at halftime but battled back in the third quarter behind its defense, which held Mahar to seven points in the frame, while the offense put up 15.
Chace Novak led Turners with 16 points, while Tyler Lavin netted 14. Jeremiah Russell chipped in 7 points.
Pioneer 44, Belchertown 39 — Pioneer overcame a brutal shooting night as it outscored Belchertown 14-6 in the fourth quarter to come from behind and earn a 44-39 victory Thursday night at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.
The Panthers struggled from the field against the Orioles, shooting just 1-for-28 from 3-point range, and 13-for-60 from 2-point range. The 14-for-68 shooting night from the field left the Panthers around 20 percent shooting on the night.
While Pioneer had its worst shooting night of the year, it did do something it had yet to do this season: Out-rebound an opposing team as it out-rebounded the Orioles, 36-25.
Pioneer led 21-19 with two minutes to play before halftime but the Orioles went on a 7-0 run to end the half and led 25-21 at the break. Belchertown led throughout the entire second half until Pioneer took the lead with 1:14 to play.
“We didn’t quit and we didn’t give in,” Pioneer coach Scott Thayer said.
Zack Fox finished with 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Panthers (5-1), and Ryan Underwood added 9 points and nine boards. Garrett Cote finished with 7 points (all from the free throw line in the fourth quarter), and Jared Hubbard added 6 points.
Corey Lanoue and Jordan Lanoue each scored 10 points to lead Belchertown.
Smith Academy 45, Athol 42 — Athol coach Dan Bevis was looking for his team to keep Smith Academy in the 50s on offense Thursday night in order to have a chance to win.
The Red Raiders did him one better by holding the high-scoring Falcons under 50 points, but the Athol offense came up just shy as it fell, 45-42, in a Hampshire League North Division game in Hatfield.
“We said that we had to play in the 50s, and we actually played in the 40s, which helped us out,” Bevis said. “Our guys played very well defensively.”
The Falcons (3-4) still did enough to win as Brett Gratz had a big night for the hosts, scoring a game-high 23 points. Max Bartlett added 13 points, but Athol limited leading scorer Jack Zygmont to just 3 points, while sharpshooter Carter Woodward had just 6.
“Being able to shut those two guys down gave us a chance to be in it at the end,” Bevis said. “Gratz had a big night. We forced him to take some tough shots and he made them.”
Nick Bousquet and Mark Ferrari each finished with 11 points to pace Athol, while Ryley Payne and Noah Pottinger each chipped in 6.
Athol fell to 2-3 overall but is a handful of points away from having two or three more wins.
“We wanted to be competitive tonight and we were,” Bevis concluded. “Now, it’s about learning how to win, especially on the road.”
Frontier 75, Hoosac Valley 50 — After allowing 20 points in the first quarter Thursday night, Frontier’s defense buckled down in a big way. The host Red Hawks limited Hoosac Valley to just 30 points over the final three frames, running past the Hurricanes for an impressive 75-50 independent win at Goodnow Gymnasium in South Deerfield.
“We came out of the gates complacent. We weren’t communicating on defense,” said Frontier coach Ben Barshefsky, whose team trailed 20-16 after one quarter. “The guys really buckled down after that.”
Senior Carsten Carey returned after missing two games with an injury and poured in a game-high 24 points to go with 12 rebounds. Alex Sharp followed with 10 points, while Kalen Evans and Owen Morse both scored 9 points. Collin Boudreau tossed in 7 points and Brandyn Robinson followed with 6 as 11 different Red Hawks tallied in the win.
“It was the second game in a row where we had contributions from up and down the lineup,” Barshefsky said.
Izaha Stubbs was the high-scorer for Hoosac with 19 points. The Hurricanes fell to 5-2 with the loss.
Frontier (4-1), which led 38-30 at halftime, is off until Thursday when it plays a Hampshire League North contest against Greenfield.
FC Tech 74, Gateway 40 — Marcus Sanders made the most of his varsity debut at Franklin County Technical School.
The sophomore guard scored a team-high 21 points and the Eagles cruised to a 74-40 victory over Gateway in an independent boys’ hoop game Thursday night in Huntington.
Sanders added four assists, four steals and one blocked shot in addition to his 21 points.
Garret Cole also had a big day with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots. Jared Bergmann netted 14 points and had a big game defensively, while Justin Littlewood and Sim Maniatty each added 8 points. Cole LaClaire chipped in 6 points.
Franklin Tech (3-2) led 38-16 at halftime and upped the lead to 59-20 after three quarters.
Frontier 69, Athol 37 — Amelia Sobieski led three players in double figures with 19 points, and visiting Frontier jumped out to a big halftime lead en route to a decisive 69-37 victory over Athol in a Franklin County League North girls basketball game Thursday night at Mallet Gymnasium in Athol.
Marie Diemand added 14 points in the win for the Red Hawks (2-2, 2-1), followed by Olivia Deane with 12 points. Kaitlyn Mackin registered 8 points, Sierra Warren added 6 and Charlotte Doulette followed with 5.
Frontier led 40-17 at halftime.
Athol (2-4, 0-2) was led offensively by Haley Bigwood’s 17 points, including 12 in the first half. Angelica Baptista scored 9 points in the loss.
FC Tech 6th at Pentucket
Joshua Brunelle and Brody Wood each went 3-1 on the day, and the duo wound up as runners-up in their respective weight classes to help Franklin Tech claim sixth place at the Pentucket Invitational Tournament Thursday in West Newbury.
Brunelle reached the 120-pound final, where he fell to Timberlane’s (N.H.) Jake Rousseau, 10-6, in a tight title bout.
At 170 pounds, Wood reached the final before being pinned by Ader Mezidor of Greater Lawrence.
Walker Picard continued his solid start to the season at 220 pounds, where he was 3-1 and finished third overall. Picard pinned Marblehead/Swampscott’s Andrew Rosa in the consolation finals to snag third.
Tech’s Kyle Brunelle went 4-1 in the 138-pound bracket, defeating Mat Cefali, 6-1, in the consolation semifinals. Brunelle settled for fourth place as he was unable to compete in the third-place match due to the five-match rule.
Noah Fuess (145) and Tim Fritz (160) both had busy days for the Eagles. Fuess went 3-2 and reached the consolation semifinals, while Fritz went 2-2 and took fifth place in his bracket.
Frontier, Mohawk at Berkshire Holiday
A pair of Frontier wrestlers captured third-place finishes Thursday, leading the local contingent at the Berkshire Holiday Tournament at Monument Mountain in Great Barrington.
Tanner Finch took third at 126 pounds, while teammate Nate Austin was also third overall at 195 pounds. The duo helped the Red Hawks finish 10th as a team in the event with 55 points.
Finch was 3-1 overall, picking up a 5-4 decision in the third-place match against Jacob Almieda of Cohoes (N.Y.). Austin, the top-seeded wrestler at 195, was also 3-1 at 195 where he pinned Monument’s Logan Mead to take third.
Frontier’s Ito McMillan was fourth to help his team’s cause. The senior was fourth at 145 pounds.
Mohawk was 17th as a team in the event with 24 points.
The Warriors received a fourth-place finish from Dylan Wooldridge at 160 pounds. He had the best finish of any Mohawk wrestler thanks to a 2-2 day, falling in the third-place match to Putnam’s Jaden Delgado.
Mohawk’s Ethan Bower (220), Jakob Bower (145) and Nate Wooldridge (132) all picked up single victories on the day.
Mahar 55, Turners 49
Turners (49)
Lavin 6-0—14, Campbell, Russell 2-1—7, Dodge 0-1—1, Kucenski 1-1—3, Politis, Novak 6-2—16, Whiting 1-0—2, Ruggiano 0-2—2, Peterson 0-2—2, Wilson 0-2—2. Totals 16-11-49.
Mahar (55)
Barnes 1-2—4, Tenney, Chabot 2-0—4, Carron 1-0—2, Lyesiuk 1-3—6, Patch 6-0—12, Notre, Gonzalez 3-0—6, Watson 3-2—8, Desrosiers 5-0—11. Totals: 23-7–55.
3-Point Goals: (TF) Lavin 2, Russell 2, Novak 2. (M) Lyesiuk, Desrosiers.
Score by quarters:
|
Turners |
13 |
12 |
15 |
9 |
— |
49 |
|
Mahar |
14 |
18 |
7 |
16 |
— |
55 |
Pioneer 44, Belchertown 39
Belchertown (39)
Schiffer 1-2—4, Burton 2-0—4, Lawless 1-0—3, Wright 3-1—7, C. Lanoue 4-0—10, Raines 0-1—1, J. Lanoue 2-6—10. Totals 13-9–39.
Pioneer (44)
J. Fox 0-1—1, Emond 0-1—1, Hubbard 2-2—6, Potter 1-0—3, Fuller 0-1—1, Cote 0-7—7, Underwood 4-1—9, Z. Fox 5-4—14, Curtis 1-0—2, Emberley, Dobosz. Totals: 13-17–44.
3-Point Goals: (B) C. Lanoue 2, Lawless, Wright. (P) Potter.
Score by quarters:
|
Belchertown |
14 |
11 |
8 |
6 |
— |
39 |
|
Pioneer |
10 |
11 |
9 |
14 |
— |
44 |
Frontier 75, Hoosac Valley 50
Hoosac (50)
Stubbs 5-6—19, Krol 3-4—10, Delmolino 2-0—5, Larabee 1-0—3, Parees 2-0—4, Swistak 1-0—3, Dozier 1-0—3, Meczywor 1-0—3. Totals 16-10–50.
Frontier (75)
Sharp 2-4—10, Evans 3-1—9, Barrington 1-0—2, Gochinski 1-0—3, Robinson 2-0—6, P. Carey 1-0—2, Morse 3-2—9, Jones-Thomson 0-1—1, Boudreau 1-5—7, C. Carey 9-6—24, Walkowitz 1-0—2, Nuerminger. Totals: 24-19–75.
3-Point Goals: (HV) Stubbs 3, Delmolino, Larabee, Swistak, Dozier, Meczywor. (F) Sharp 2, Evans 2, Robinson 2, Gochinski, Morse.
Score by quarters:
|
Hoosac |
20 |
10 |
11 |
9 |
— |
50 |
|
Frontier |
16 |
22 |
12 |
25 |
— |
75 |
FC Tech 74, Gateway 40
FC Tech (74)
Sanders 7-3—21, Bergmann 5-3—14, Vielmetti-Perusse 1-0—3, J. Littlewood 4-0—8, Maniatty 2-4—8, LaClaire 2-2—6, Cole 5-2—12, C. Littlewood 1-0—2. Totals 27-14–74.
Gateway (40)
Lafreniare 3-0—6, Cortis 4-2—10, Sakaske 2-2—7, Iacovelli 1-0—2, Santiago-Lopez 6-2—15. Totals: 16-6–40.
3-Point Goals: (FT) Sanders 4, Bergmann, Vielmetti-Perusse. (G) Sakaske, Santiago-Lopez.
Score by quarters:
|
FC Tech |
15 |
23 |
21 |
15 |
— |
74 |
|
Gateway |
8 |
8 |
4 |
20 |
— |
40 |
Smith Academy 45, Athol 42
Athol (42)
King 1-0—3, Edwards 1-0—2, Lutz 0-1—1, Paine 2-2—6, Pottinger 3-0—6, Bousquet 4-1—11, Heath 1-0—2, Ferrari 4-2—11. Totals 16-6–42.
Smith Academy (45)
Gratz 9-3—23, Zigmont 1-1—3, Woodward 2-2—6, Bartlett 5-3—13. Totals: 17-7–45.
3-Point Goals: (A) Bousquet 2, King, Ferrari. (SA) Gratz 2, Woodward 2.
Score by quarters:
|
Athol |
8 |
10 |
12 |
12 |
— |
42 |
|
Smith Academy |
12 |
10 |
12 |
11 |
— |
45 |
GIRLS GAMES
Frontier 69, Athol 37
Frontier (69)
Warren 2-1—6, Maes-Polan, Mackin 2-4—8, Sobieski 8-3—19, Doulette 1-3—5, Ring 1-1—3, Deane 1-10—12, Diemand 7-0—14, Fuller 1-0—2. Totals 23-22–69.
Athol (37)
Cleveland 2-1—5, Baptista 2-3—9, Bigwood 8-1—17, Putnam 2-0—4, Deleo 0-2—2, Wrigley, St. Cyr, Polana. Totals: 14-7–37.
3-Point Goals: (F) Warren. (A) Baptista 2.
Score by quarters:
|
Frontier |
20 |
20 |
12 |
17 |
— |
69 |
|
Athol |
12 |
5 |
11 |
9 |
— |
37 |