Senators vote for tourney

For the 15th consecutive year, Mahar Regional School can shine up its dancing shoes.

The Senators streak of consistency continued Monday night. Behind a triple-double from Tori Tenney, Mahar punched its postseason ticket yet again behind a 44-36 win over Frontier in a Franklin County League North Division girls basketball game at Grzesik-Bixby Gymnasium in Orange.

“Frontier has always been a good team to play,” offered Mahar coach Larry Fisher, whose team improved to 10-6 overall, 3-2 in the North. “We have a real good relationship with them over the years. They’re definitely fighting for a tournament spot also, so it was not an easy game by any means.”

Tenney went for 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals, pacing the defensive effort for a Senators team that trailed early but rallied. Holding a one-point lead entering the fourth, Mahar outscored Frontier by a 14-7 margin in the final stanza to snag the victory. Micalyn Mailloux hit five of six free throws in the fourth en route to a team-high 13 points, while Delaney Parker (9 points) did a nice job controlling tempo and possession in the waning minutes. Jazmyn Vautour added 2 points to go with 10 rebounds.

“Our players stayed composed down the stretch,” said Fisher. “(Tenney has) come a long way since the first part of the year. She’s jumping out of the roof right now when it goes to her side of the board.”

Mahar trailed 9-7 after one quarter before storming ahead, 21-20, at intermission. 

Frontier (8-8, 3-2) received a team-high 9 points from Amelia Sobieski. Charlotte Doulette and Marie Diemand notched 8 points each, and Ariana Walker followed with 7.

The Red Hawks played their first game without head coach Rick Recore, who stepped down Sunday night due to personal reasons. The team’s staff of assistant coaches — Betsy Sobieski (current JV coach), Frank Keimig and Fred Warren — will finish out the season in charge of the program, as Frontier is two wins away from postseason qualification with four games remaining.

“The reason we went with the decision we did was because we wanted to keep continuity going forward with only two weeks left in the regular season,” said Frontier athletic director Marty Sanderson of putting the trio in charge after the first-year head coach resigned. “We have three people on staff who have been there all year with the team. Keeping that staff together was the way to go.”

Mahar hosts Athol in rivalry action Wednesday at 5:30 while Frontier hosts Athol on Thursday.

Greenfield 80, Athol 32 — Katie Haselton dropped 25 points on Monday night and Greenfield defeated Athol, 80-32, in an FCL North game in Athol.

Greenfield led 20-5 after the first quarter and 49-9 at the break.

Raegan Hickey netted 17 points for the Green Wave, and Tina Reed had 11 points. Samantha Smith netted 10 points, and Eva Pruitt-Dahl chipped in 6 points.

Haley Bigwood led Athol with 21 points, and Taylor Cleveland added 7.

Southwick 53, Turners 35 — Hannah Burke scored 19 points and Southwick pulled away from Turners Falls, 53-35, in an FCL South game Monday night in Southwick.

Southwick led 15-14 after the first quarter but the Thunder scored just two points in the second quarter and fell into a hole it was unable to climb out of. Maura Wurster and Kathleen Shea each added 10 points in the win.

Lucy Spera had 3 points and 17 rebounds (including seven on offense) for Turners Falls. Dabney Rollins had 8 points, Lily Spera had 7 points, and Hailey Bogusz netted 6 points.

Gateway 26, FC Tech 12 — The second half was one to forget for Franklin Tech Monday night. The host Eagles were tied, 10-10, at intermission with postseason-bound Gateway, but the Gators outscored the Eagles by a 16-2 margin after the break to pull away for a 26-12 independent win in Turners Falls.

Jordan Hurlbert scored 6 of Tech’s 12 points on the night, as the Eagles fell to 8-7 on the season. Jocelyn Crowningshield added 4 points and Gem Cruz tossed in the final 2.

Gateway (12-4) was led by Peyton Bucko’s 8 points. The Gators were held below their season average offensively, but they also kept the Eagles to a season-low output at the other end.

Boys basketball

Frontier 60, Hopkins 40 — Frontier got off to a fast start and rolled past Hopkins Academy, 60-40, in an independent boys game Monday in Hatfield.

The Red Hawks led 21-8 after the first quarter and upped the advantage to 35-14 at halftime.

“We moved the ball very well the entire night,” Frontier coach Ben Barshefsky said. “Each time we swung it through the high post, it presented scoring opportunities.”

Carsten Carey had 17 points in the win, and brother Peter Carey netted 13 points. Owen Morse added 12 points, and Tim Barrington chipped in 6 points.

Andrew Ciaglo scored 12 points for Hopkins, and Caleb Graves tossed in 9.

Mohawk 65, St. Mary’s 37 — A huge second-half on both ends of the floor helped Mohawk pull away from St. Mary’s, 65-37, in an independent boys basketball game Monday night in Westfield.

The two teams were tied at 22-22 at halftime but Mohawk outscored the Saints 22-11 in the third quarter, and 21-6 in the fourth.

“I think our offense started to come together as a team, and we worked together for better shots,” Mohawk coach Darren Schmidt said. “The guys picked it up a lot in the second half.”

Shawn Davenport and Anthony Moffatt each led Mohawk with 15 points, and Will Guyette came in off the bench and finished with 9 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Cam Lococo had 8 points and four steals, Jackson Hicks netted 6 points, and Reuben Bassett had 5 points and 10 rebounds.

Greenfield 80, Athol 32

Greenfield (80)

Rivera 1-0—3, Provost 1-2—4, Haselton 9-5—25, Hickey 5-6—17, Joy 1-0—2, Reed 5-1—11, Pruitt-Dahl 2-1—6, Smith 4-2—10, Richardson 0-2—2, Kuchieski. Totals 28-19–80.

Athol (32)

Nelson 1-0—2, Deleo 1-0—2, Bigwood 9-2—21, Cleveland 3-1—7, St. Cyr, Baptista, Wrigley, Polana. Totals: 14-3–32.

3-Point Goals: (G) Haselton 2, Rivera, Hickey, Pruitt-Dahl. (A) Bigwood.

Score by quarters:

Mahar 44, Frontier 36

Frontier (36)

Walker 3-0—7, Mackin 1-0—2, Sobieski 2-5—9, Doulette 3-2—8, Deane 1-0—2, Diemand 2-3—8, Sackrey, Maes-Polan. Totals 12-10–36.

Mahar (44)

Parker 3-1—9, Tenney 4-2—10, Mailloux 2-9—13, Apteker 1-0—2, Page 2-0—4, Bonk 2-0—4, Vautour 1-0—2, Prescott, Davis. Totals: 15-12–44.

3-Point Goals: (F) Walker, Diemand. (M) Parker 2.

Score by quarters:

Southwick 53, Turners 35

Turners (35)

Moreno 1-0—2, Fleming 1-1—3, Whiteman, Murphy 1-0—3, Rollins 4-0—8, Waldron 1-0—3, Bogusz 2-2—6, Li. Spera 2-3—7, Lu. Spera 1-1—3, Johnson, Garcia. Totals 13-7–35.

Southwick (53)

Daley 1-2—5, Shea 4-2—10, Martin 1-2—5, Wurster 2-5—10, Andrich 1-0—2, Burke 5-6—19, Grilli 1-0—2. Totals: 15-17–53.

3-Point Goals: (TF) Murphy, Waldron. (S) Daley, Martin, Wurster, Burke 3.

Score by quarters:

Gateway 26, FC Tech 12

Gateway (26)

Bucko 3-0—8, Viel 0-1—1, Herman 2-1—7, Waters 3-1—7, Paiva 0-2—2, Van Buren 0-1—1. Totals 8-6–26.

FC Tech (12)

Hurlbert 2-2—6, Cruz 1-0—2, Crowningshield 2-0—4, Kucenski, Doane, Duga, Jobst, Merritt, Ryan, Eastman. Totals: 5-2–12.

3-Point Goals: (G) Herman 2, Bucko 2. (FT) none.

Score by quarters:

BOYS GAMES

Mohawk 65, St. Mary’s 37

Mohawk (65)

Moffatt 5-2—15, Davenport 5-4—15, Hicks 3-0—6, Dubreuil 1-0—2, Lococo 3-1—8, Cross 1-0—2, Matthews 1-0—3, Guyette 4-1—9, Bassett 2-1—5, Sumner. Totals 25-9–65.

St. Mary’s (37)

Willenborg 1-2—5, Blanchard 1-0—2, Collins 5-1—15, Lamirande 4-5—15. Totals: 11-8–37.

3-Point Goals: (M) Moffatt 3, Davenport, Lococo, Matthews. (SM) Willenborg, Collins 4, Lamirande 2.

Score by quarters:

Frontier 60, Hopkins 40

Frontier (60)

Evans 3-0—6, Barrington 2-2—6, Felton-Emrick 1-0—2, Robinson 1-0—2, P. Carey 6-1—13, Morse 4-2—12, Jones-Thomson 1-0—2, C. Carey 8-1—17, Gochinski, Nuerminger, Walkowicz. Totals 26-6–60.

Hopkins (40)

Waldron 1-0—3, Beck 0-2—2, Ciaglo 4-0—12, Berg 2-2—6, Graves 3-0—9, Tudryn 3-0—6, Antes 1-0—2. Totals: 14-4–40.

3-Point Goals: (F) Morse 2. (H) Ciaglo 4, Graves 3, Waldron.

Score by quarters: