Panthers avenge loss to Putnam

Pioneer Valley Regional School closed out the regular season in a big way.

After handing Franklin County League South Division-leading Ware High School its first league loss of the season (and only fourth loss of the year overall) on Monday night, the Panthers ended the regular season by sealing up second place in the league with a 47-39 victory over Putnam Vocational Technical Academy Thursday night in Northfield.

Putnam (12-7 overall, 4-3 South), which defeated Pioneer (12-8, 6-2), 43-42, earlier in the season and was battling with the Panthers for second place in the league, held a 29-28 lead entering the fourth quarter but the Panthers outscored the Beavers, 19-10, in the final frame.

“These girls are conditioned and they are wearing other teams down in the fourth quarter,” Pioneer coach Meg Burrington said.

Pioneer enters the postseason on a hot streak as it has won five of its final six games.

“This is the right time to start playing our best basketball,” Burrington said. “Everyone plays their role and they are doing their jobs. They are playing great.”

The fourth quarter was highlighted by the Panthers converting 13-of-16 free throws to help pull away. Burrington said that the free throws were the result of hard work on the defensive boards.

“When we start getting defensive rebounds, we get some big transition points and we got fouled and hit our free throws,” she said.

Paige Loughman had a big night for the Panthers with a game-high 17 points, including going a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. Loughman also finished with seven rebounds, two steals and two assists. Olivia Rowe finished with 9 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Alina Cecunjanin added 9 points, including five in the fourth quarter.

“Four of her points were in transition in the fourth,” Burrington said. “And those started with big defensive rebounds by Olivia.”

Steph Scoville chipped in with 6 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals for the Panthers.

D’Zhane Sullivan led Putnam with 15 points.

Pope Francis 49, Mohawk 48 — Mohawk High School was one basket away from clinching a spot in the Western Mass Div. 4 tournament.

Playing against Pope Francis, the leader in the Franklin County West League, Mohawk was able to force overtime, but ultimately fell 49-48.

The loss leaves Mohawk in a must-win situation heading into its season-finale against McCann Tech, Monday night in North Adams. The Warriors would clinch second place in the FCL West and get the automatic berth. Mohawk beat McCann Tech earlier this season at home.

Grace Poplawski had 18 points for the Warriors, 13 of which came in the second half and overtime. Ashley Reynolds had 17 points, eight of which came in the first quarter.

The Mohawk defense came to play in the first half, holding Pope Francis to just 14 points in the first half of play. The Warriors led by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, but Pope Francis had its best eight minutes of offense, putting up 17 points to force overtime.

McKenna Sims had 17 points for Pope Francis, four of which came in overtime. Jasmine Maldenado finished with 13 points including a huge three in overtime.

Greenfield 75, Hopkins 50 — Behind four double-digit scorers, Greenfield High School was able to cruise to a 75-50 victory over Hopkins Academy in a Franklin County League North Division game Thursday in Hadley.

Hopkins has been as hot as any team in western Mass., riding a five-game winning streak into Thursday, and having won seven of its past eight games. The Hawks (13-6) were no match for the Green Wave (16-2), which is a favorite in the WMass Division 3 field, and has not lost a game to a western Mass. team this season.

Racquel Provost scored a career-high 16 points for Greenfield, all of which came in the second half. Provost knocked down four threes in the final two quarters of play.

Samantha Smith dominated the paint for Green Wave, scoring 22 points and snagging 11 rebounds. On the defensive end, she rejected three shots.

Katie Haselton chipped in 17 points and dished out five assists, while Raegan Hickey had a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists. She also snagged five steals.

For Hopkins, Samantha Jenks led the way with 16 points, knocking down two 3s in the game.

The Green Wave got off to a hot start, racing out to an early eight-point lead to end the first quarter before breaking away in the second, outscoring the Golden Hawks 22-14.

Greenfield wasn’t done scoring there, as a 23-point third quarter, behind the shots of Provost, allowed it to maintain a secure lead in the game.

Athol 75, Narragansett 67 — Thirty-two minutes wasn’t enough time to decide a winner between Athol and Narragansett, as a 15-point overtime period by the Red Raiders was the difference, allowing them to come away with a 75-67 victory.

Athol knocked down just one three in the game, but did a great job of getting to the rim and kicking out once the Narragansett defense collapsed, allowing it to convert 26 field goals in the contest. It also did a good job of getting to the free throw line, knocking down 22 shots from the charity stripe.

The Red Raiders roared out to a double-digit lead at the half, but Narragansett continued to chip into it in the final 16 minutes of play, ultimately forcing overtime.

Athol coach Kelly Kaczmarczyk reminded her team to stay calm and work on what they had been doing well, leading to an offensive explosion in the overtime period to earn the victory.

Taylor Cleveland led the Red Raiders with 20 points, while Geca Baptiste had 18 points, including the teams lone 3-pointer. Hailey Bigwood chipped in 16 points. 

Boys games

Pioneer 65,  Belchertown 54 — Pioneer raced out to an early lead and held off a late rally from Belchertown to hold on for a 65-54 victory in a Hampshire League South boys basketball game Thursday in Belchertown.

The Panthers (15-3) jumped out to a 18-6 lead after the first quarter and maintained a double-digit lead throughout much of the night until late in the fourth quarter, when Pioneer’s 18-point lead was whittled down to single digits as Belchertown made a run.

“We came out with a lot of energy,” Pioneer coach Scott Thayer said. “We rebounded the ball well. They scored six points, so they were one shot and done a lot.”

In the fourth quarter, after Belchertown cut the 18-point deficit in half, Pioneer recovered and made its free throws down the stretch.

The Panthers got a big performance from Troy Emond, who finished with 19 points as he continues to work his way back from injury.

“The ankle is starting to feel pretty good,” Thayer said of Emond. “He got out in transition early and got a couple of buckets. He was in attack mode most of the night, instead of settling for shots.”

Garrett Cote finished with 20 points, seven assists and five steals in the win, while Jared Hubbard was the third Pioneer player in double figures on offense with 10 points and seven boards. Zach Fox had 8 points and eight rebounds, and Jacob Fuller pulled down nine boards.

Jordan Lanoue netted 17 points to pace Belchertown, while brother Corey Lanoue — who averages well into double figures on offense — was limited to 7 points.

Pioneer hosts Turners Falls tonight.

Duggan 78, Franklin Tech 56 — Ty’Voun Alston’s 25 points paced Duggan Academy past Franklin Tech, 78-56, in a Tri-County North league game.

After taking a three-point lead into the first quarter break, Duggan outscored Franklin Tech 18-11 in the second quarter to take a double-digit lead into the half, and would hold that lead until the finish.

Garrett Cole had 17 points for Franklin Tech, and Jared Bergmann and Bailey Young each chipped in 11 points.

Hussien Kabir had 16 points for Duggan, while Marcel Greene added 14 points.

Narragansett 96, Athol 40 — A 36-point first quarter set the tone for the game, as Narragansett ran away with a 96-40 victory over Athol in an independent game.

Nick Bousquet led Athol with 12 point,s and Bryce King added 10 of his own.

Narragansett had five players score in double-figures.

Athol 75, Narragansett 67 (OT)

Narragansett (67)

Ambrosi 2-0—4, Janson 7-1—16, Gross 2-0—5, Jooys 0-2—2, Davis 10-5—25, Hardy 1-5—7, Gallagher 2-3—7, Demarest 1-2—4. Totals 23-19—67.

Athol (75)

Nelson 4-0—8, Cleveland 7-6—20, Deleo 2-5—9, Baptista 5-7—18, Bigwood 7-2—16, St. Cyr 1-1—3, Wrigley 0-1—1. Totals: 26-22—75.

3-Point Goals: (N) Janson, Gross. (A) Baptista.

Score by quarters:

Pioneer 47, Putnam 39

Putnam (39)

Ramirez 2-1—5, Chad. Haywood 2-3—8, Harris 1-0—2, Sullivan 5-4—15, Rodriguez 2-1—5, Fernandez 1-0—2, Rivera 1-0—2. Totals 14-9—39.

Pioneer (47)

Tibbetts 1-0—2, Loughman 2-12—17, Scoville 1-4—6, Rowe 3-3—9, Flagg 1-0—2, Kahler 0-2—2, Cecunjanin 3-3—9, Ellis, Briggs, Faille. Totals: 11-24—47.

3-Point Goals: (Pu) Chad. Haywood, Sullivan. (Pi) Loughman.

Score by quarters:

Greenfield 75 Hopkins 50

Greenfield (75)

Provost 6-0—16, Kuchieski 1-0—3, Haselton 6-3—17, Hickey 3-6—13, Joy 1-0—2, Smith 9-3—22, Richardson 1-0—2, Rivera, Reed. Totals 27-12—75.

Hopkins (50)

Earle 3-1—8, Hanscom 1-0—2, A. Kowal-Safron 3-1—9, Palmisano 1-0—2, Jenks 6-2—16, Mitchell 3-2—8, Beauchamp 0-1—1, Boisvert 1-2—4. Totals: 18-8—50.

3-Point Goals: (G) Provost 4, Kuchieski, Haselton 2, Hickey, Smith. (H) Earle 2, A. Kowal-Safron 2, Jenks 2.

Score by quarters:

Pope Francis 49, Mohawk 48 (OT)

Pope Francis (49)

Garvey 3-0—7, Maldanado 4-3—13, Cavanaugh 2-0—4, Wolanske 2-0—4, Samis 8-0—17, Green 1-2—4. Totals 20-5—49.

Mohawk (48)

Lesieur 0-1—1, Ward 4-1—9, Dupree 0-1—1, Poplawski 6-6—18, Reynolds 3-11—17, Rancourt 1-0—2, Allen. Totals: 14-20—48.

3-Point Goals: (PF) Maldanado 2, Garvey, Samis.

Score by quarters:

Boys Games

Duggan 78, FC Tech 56

FC Tech (56)

Bergmann 4-2—11, Vielmetti-Perusse 2-0—5, Maniatty 2-3—7, McLaughlin 2-0—5, Young 4-1—11, Cole 5-7—17. Totals 19-13—56.

Duggan (78)

Alston 12-0—25, Kidir 6-4—16, Chapman 2-0—6, Greene 6-0—14, Reid 1-0—2, Weston 3-0—6, Robles 2-0—4, Smith 2-0— 4, Fortunatti 0-1—1. Totals: 34-5—78.

3-Point Goals: (FT) Bergmann, Vielmetti-Perusse, McLaughlin, Young 2. (D) Chapman 2, Greene 2, Alson.

Score by quarters:

Narragansett 96, Athol 40

Athol (40)

King 4-2—10, Paine 2-0—5, Pottinger 1-0—2, Bousquet 4-0—12, Lamarche 1-0—3, Ferrari 1-0—2, Heath 3-0—6, Lutz, Tarbell. Totals 16-2—40.

Narragansett (96)

Monett-Harris 4-2—11, Smith 3-0—6, Dill 6-3—19, Welch 5-2—13, Edwards 4-3—11, Comeau 4-0—8, Tourigny 2-0—4, Guartafierro 1-0—3, Brea 3-0—6, M. Jacques 5-0—10, Luttig 1-0—3, M. Jacques 2-0—4. Totals: 40-10—98.

3-Point Goals: (A) Bousquet 4, Lamarche, Paine. (N) Dill 4, Monett-Harris, Welch, Guartafierro, Luttig.

Score by quarters:

Pioneer 65, Belchertown 54

Pioneer (65)

Emond 8-2—19, Hubbard 4-0—10, Cote 5-8—20, Underwood 1-0—2, Fox 4-0—8, Dobosz 1-0—2, Emberley 2-0—4, Potter, Curtis, Fuller. Totals 25-10—65.

Belchertown (54)

Burton 1-0—2, Bechtold 1-0—2, Wrona 4-1—9, Lawless 3-0—7, Wright 2-0—4, C. Lanoue 3-0—7, J. Lanoue 5-6—17, Raines 3-0—6. Totals: 22-7—54.

3-Point Goals: (P) Emond, Hubbard 2, Cote 2. (B) Lawless, C. Lanoue, J. Lanoue.

Score by quarters: