Chace Novak came up huge for Turners Falls in its pursuit of the boys basketball postseason on Tuesday night.
Novak hit a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to put Turners Falls in front for good, and the Thunder moved to within one victory of qualifying for the WMass Division 4 Tournament with a 71-67 victory over Belchertown in Belchertown.
Turners Falls (9-8) needs to win one of its final three games in order to qualify. The Thunder face Mahar, Hopkins and Pioneer next week.
Turners led midway through the fourth quarter but the Thunder went on a four-minute scoreless drought, allowing the Orioles to come back and take a six-point lead with two minutes to go. The team righted things late, and Novak’s trey with the Thunder down two points with 26 seconds left gave the team the lead. Jeremiah Russell then stole the ball and laid it in to seal the victory.
“This was an absolutely huge win for us,” Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins said. “We made some bad mistakes in the fourth, and they went up six. I’m happy that we worked hard until the end and did not roll over.”
Novak finished with a career-high 29 points to go with eight rebounds. His offense included seven 3-pointers.
Anthony Peterson had a double-double in the win with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Tyler Lavin added 13 points. Ryan Campbell chipped in 8 points.
Jordan Lanoue finished with 22 points in the loss, and Corey Lanoue had 13 points.
Greenfield 62, Athol 37 — It didn’t come easy for Greenfield on Tuesday night but the Wave took care of business to inch closer to the postseason.
A massive fourth-quarter output helped the Green Wave pull away from Athol for a 62-37 win at Nichols Gymnasium in Greenfield.
Greenfield (8-8) needs two wins in its final four games to qualify for the postseason. After hosting Pioneer this evening, the Wave hits the road for games against Smith Academy, Mohawk and Frontier.
The game remained tight through three quarters with the Green Wave taking a five-point lead (35-30) into the fourth. The Wave offense finally came to life in the final eight minutes as it outscored the Red Raiders, 27-7, to pull away.
“It took them three quarters,” Greenfield coach Angelo Thomas said. “I put some different guys in, some bench guys, and it kind of brought some energy, some fire to the crew.”
Owen Phelps led a balanced offense with 11 points, and Mason Meadows added 9 points. Danny Vega netted 8 points, Ryan Cote added 7 points, and Julius Brewington chipped in 5 points.
Mark Ferrari led Athol with 15 points, and Brymere Edwards finished with 9 points.
Hopkins 64, Mahar 58 — Host Hopkins Academy connected on 14 of its 16 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, and Andrew Ciaglo dropped a game-high 32 points as the Golden Hawks dispatched Mahar, 64-58, in a Hampshire League South boys basketball game Tuesday night in Hadley.
Mahar (12-5, 3-3) led 47-46 entering the fourth quarter, but Ciaglo and Caleb Graves combined for 12 points — all from the charity stripe — to send the hosts to the victory.
Ciaglo got Hopkins (9-8, 2-3) off and running, when he drilled five 3-pointers for 15 points in the first quarter alone to help his team take a quick 17-12 advantage.
The Senators rebounded in the second period, as Matt Lyesiuk scored nine of his 12 points. Mahar outscored Hopkins, 21-12, to take a 33-28 lead into halftime.
Charlie Barnes was the high scorer for Mahar, going for 16 points, while Lyesiuk was the other double-digit scorer for the visitors with 12. Eli Gonzalez added 9 points, Daesean Watson followed with 8 and Jordan Desrosiers tossed in 7.
Graves was 14-for-15 from the free throw line and registered 19 points for Hopkins.
The Senators look to rebound tonight when they host Athol.
PV Christian 67, FC Tech 62 — After a two-week layoff, Franklin Tech finally returned to the hardwood Tuesday night.
That’s where they ran into Matthew Porter, unfortunately.
The Pioneer Valley Christian big man scored 11 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter, propelling the hosts to a come-from-behind 67-62 victory in Tri-County League North boys basketball action in Springfield.
“We could not stop him getting to the hoop,” said Franklin Tech coach Tim Artus of Porter. “He had himself a really good game. He played strong and made his free throws.”
The Eagles (6-7, 2-4) led 49-46 entering the fourth quarter, but Porter and the home team outscored them by a 21-13 margin in the final stanza to snag the win.
“Our offense worked well enough and even with the (two week) layoff we had, we got some open looks,” Artus said. “We made some, we missed some. Hopefully now we can get back on track.”
Garret Cole powered Franklin Tech with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Marcus Sanders (13 points), Jared Bergmann (11) and Jared Vielmetti-Perusse (10) made it four Eagles in double figures. Sanders and Bergmann combined for nine assists and three steals.
The Eagles have seven games over the next 13 days to close out the regular season, beginning tonight when they host Smith Voke. The squad needs to go 4-3 to secure a spot in the WMass Div. 4 tourney.
“We don’t look at it as a problem because we’re finally back on the court where it counts,” said Artus of the busy two weeks ahead. “This has been a long week and a half between games.”
Loomis, Laffond go 1-2
The Mohawk alpine ski train kept right on rolling Tuesday evening.
The Warriors picked up another team victory in the girls race, as PVIAC Race No. 5 was run at Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Charlemont. Sophomore Taylor Loomis won the girls slalom, with senior Erin Laffond, who won Monday’s race, right behind as the overall runner-up to help Mohawk earn the win in North Division action.
Loomis posted a winning time of 33.14 seconds, with Laffond next in 34.86 seconds. Mohawk teammates Emily Sissum (18th overall, 13th North) and Amalie Rowehl (21st, 15th North) were the team’s other scorers, crossing with times of 40.86 and 41.89 seconds, respectively.
Frontier’s Areia Heilman paced her team in Tuesday’s slalom race, as she was the first Red Hawk down the mountain in 13th place overall (ninth in the North). Heilman’s time of 39.31 seconds led the way, with teammate Coriann Delaney next in 24th position (16th North) with a time of 44.49 seconds.
Next down the hill for the Hawks were Maddie Raymond in 27th place overall (18th North) and Cali Price in 47th position (31st North).
Mohawk’s Lydia Sargent (41st, 27th) and Myah Grant (48th, 32nd) also skied their way into the top 50 overall on the girls side.
The Warriors had two racers crack the top 10 in the boys giant slalom race, Tuesday. Seniors Bennett Boucias and Dan White both skied well, pacing another balanced Mohawk effort. Boucias was eighth overall and sixth in the North standings with a time of 25.37 seconds, while White was right behind his teammate in ninth place overall and seventh in the North (25.66).
Four Mohawk skiers finished close together behind the team’s top two scorers. Nick Boesel-Stravino wound up third on the team, as he was 21st overall and 11th in the North with a time of 27.53 seconds. Next came Weston Den Ouden in 25th place (13th North) with a time of 28.11 seconds, while Nicolas Vera Arraste (27th overall, 15th North) and Michael Harrison (35th overall, 19th North) made it six Warriors in the North’s top 20.
Frontier sophomore Ben Martino was 24th overall and 12th in the South Division standings (28.10 seconds) to pace his squad. Teammate Ben Makosiej followed in 29th position (14th South) with a time of 28.68 seconds.
East Longmeadow’s Cameron Ottoson made it back-to-back individual wins, as he followed Monday’s slalom win with a first-place time of 24.26 seconds in Tuesday’s GS.
Mahar 54, Granby 24 — Host Mahar racked up pins in five matches, and the Senators closed out their regular-season slate with a 54-24 win over Granby in Suburban League North Division finale action Tuesday night in Orange.
Luke Chiodo scored a pin at 126 pounds over Granby’s Mason Olivera in just 37 seconds, while Justin deDiego also won via pinfall at 138 pounds where he put down Granby’s Abram Speek in 54 seconds. Also earning pins for the Senators were Gracin Bisceglia (195 pounds), Adam Clement (145) and Jon Mahony (113).
Mahar’s Henry Ndayisaba (152), Ed Bennington (160), Anya Roberts (170) and Caleb Berry (220) were winners via forfeit.
Next up for the Senators is this weekend’s Central Mass. Division 3 Tournament to be held at Wayland High School.
Greenfield 62, Athol 37
Athol (37)
Edwards 4-0—9, Lutz 2-0—4, Mahony 1-0—2, Tarbell 0-4—4, LaMarche 0-1—1, Ferrari 4-7—15, O’Lari 1-0—2, Gordon. Totals 12-12–37.
Greenfield (62)
Vega 3-1—8, Haselton 1-2—4, Phelps 5-1—11, Sak 1-2—4, Avery 2-0—4, Meadows 2-5—9, Cote 3-0—7, Hart 2-0—4, Brewington 1-3—5, Zwart 2-0—4, Baird 1-0—2, Campbell. Totals: 22-14–62.
3-Point Goals: (A) Edwards. (G) Vega, Cote.
Score by quarters:
|
Athol |
8 |
11 |
13 |
7 |
— |
37 |
|
Greenfield |
11 |
14 |
10 |
27 |
— |
62 |
Hopkins 64, Mahar 58
Mahar (58)
Desrosiers 3-0—7, Barnes 7-1—16, Tenney 3-0—6, Lyesiuk 3-3—12, Gonzalez 3-3—9, Watson 3-2—8, Notre. Totals 22-9–58.
Hopkins (64)
Waldron 2-1—5, Ciaglo 9-8—32, Graves 2-14—19, Tudryn 2-0—5, Antes 1-1—3. Totals: 16-24–64.
3-Point Goals: (M) Desrosiers, Barnes, Lyesiuk 3. (H) Ciaglo 6, Graves, Tudryn.
Score by quarters:
|
Mahar |
12 |
21 |
14 |
11 |
— |
58 |
|
Hopkins |
17 |
11 |
18 |
18 |
— |
64 |
Turners 71, Belchertown 67
Turners (71)
Lavin 5-1—13, Campbell 2-2—8, Russell 1-0—2, Dodge 1-1—3, Novak 11-0—29, Peterson 5-4—14, Whiting 1-0—2. Totals 26-8–71.
Belchertown (67)
Shiffer 3-0—6, Wrona 6-1—13, Lawless 3-2—9, C. Lanoue 5-1—13, Raines 1-0—2, J. Lanoue 10-1—22, Klingensmith 1-0—2. Totals: 29-5–67.
3-Point Goals: (TF) Novak 7, Campbell 2, Lavin 2. (B) Lawless, J. Lanoue, C. Lanoue 2.
Score by quarters:
|
Turners |
22 |
13 |
19 |
17 |
— |
71 |
|
Belchertown |
13 |
20 |
19 |
15 |
— |
67 |
PV Christian 67, FC Tech 62
FC Tech (62)
Sanders 6-1—13, Bergmann 5-1—11, Vielmetti-Perusse 4-0—10, J. Littlewood 2-0—4, Maniatty 2-0—5, Cole 7-3—17, C. Littlewood 1-0—2, Young. Totals 27-4–62.
PV Christian (67)
Taft 4-0—12, Sierra 0-1—1, Connor 2-5—11, Story 4-0—8, Andrich 0-1—1, Porter 10-13—34. Totals: 19-20–67.
3-Point Goals: (FT) Vielmetti-Perusse 2, Maniatty. (PV) Porter, Connor 2, Taft 4.
Score by quarters:
|
FC Tech |
14 |
17 |
18 |
13 |
— |
62 |
|
PV Christian |
15 |
13 |
18 |
21 |
— |
67 |
Boys Skiing
PVIAC North
(Giant slalom)
1. Ottoson (EL), 24.26
2. Burt (Lo), 24.45
3. Jones (N), 24.59
4. Stephens (W), 25.09
5. Sweeny (EL), 25.35
6. Boucias (Mo), 25.37
7. White (Mo), 25.66
8. Delacour (N), 25.82
9. Lilley (Lo), 26.30
10. Flaherty (W), 27.44
PVIAC South
1. Przybyla (Ha), 25.16
2. Masciadrelli (SM), 25.19
3. Sears (PF), 25.71
4. English (PVCICS), 25.94
5. Zahner (So), 26.30
6. Kimura (SM), 26.56
7. Kelly (Ha), 26.63
8. Freeman (SM), 26.91
9. Streeter (Mi), 26.99
10. Scott (PVCICS), 27.43
Girls Skiing
PVIAC North
(Slalom)
1. Loomis (Mo), 33.14
2. Laffond (Mo), 34.86
3. Mahoney (N), 35.91
4. Crochiere (Mi), 36.03
5. Grodsky (Lo), 36.91
6. Denhart (N), 37.38
7. Garriepy (Ga), 38.82
8. Falk (Lo), 39.29
9. Heilman (Fr), 39.31
10. Leckey (Mi), 39.46