Red Hawks eliminate Hurricanes

Frontier Regional School is heading into the WMass Division 3 Girls Basketball Tournament on a high note.

Which is not good news for Amherst Regional School.

The Red Hawks rode a huge offensive effort from Olivia Deane and a strong all-around defensive performance to get past Amherst, 37-34, in an independent game at Goodnow Gymnasium, Wednesday in South Deerfield.

The Red Hawks, who had already qualified for the postseason due to finishing in a three-way, second-place tie in the Franklin County League North Division, finished the regular season 10-10 and will find out their seed in the WMass Division 3 field, Saturday when the seeds are released at noon at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

“The win could be the difference in who we play,” Frontier assistant coach Frank Keimig said. “You don’t know. We will get some strength from beating Amherst.”

While Frontier celebrated, Amherst saw its season come to an end as it finished 9-11 on the year. The Hurricanes needed to win their finale to clinch a berth.

Amherst led 17-14 at halftime but Frontier used a 12-4 edge in scoring in the third quarter to take the lead. The Hawks were led in the frame by Deane, who drained a pair of 3-pointers to help with the offensive explosion. In the fourth, as Amherst tried to get back to even, Deane went to the foul line and converted 6-of-6 free throws.

Amherst, meanwhile, had a dismal night from the charity stripe, converting just 12-of-26 free throws, including missing seven alone in the third quarter.

Deane finished with 18 points in the win, while Katelyn Mackin added 5 points. Arianna Walker, the lone senior on Frontier who celebrated Senior Night, joined Amelia Sobieski and Marie Diemand with 4 points apiece.

Delaney MacPhetres finished with 12 points for Amherst, and Erin Klaes added 10 points.

Palmer 59, Turners Falls 31 — Madison Cole scored 16 points on Wednesday as Palmer defeated Turners Falls, 59-31, in an independent girls game in Palmer.

Olivia Coughlin added 12 points in the win.

Dabney Rollins led Turners Falls (1-19) with 13 points. Lily Spera netted 9 points, and Hailey Bogusz chipped in 5 points. 

Duggan 48, FC Tech 46 — Amani Lopez drained five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points as Duggan Academy outlasted Franklin County Technical School, 48-46, in a Tri-County League North Division girls basketball game Wednesday in Springfield.

The Eagles struggled on offense in the first quarter with just four points but went into halftime trailing just 17-15 thanks to a strong defensive effort. By the end of the third quarter the Eagles tied the score, but Duggan took the lead in the fourth and held off the Eagles.

Franklin Tech finished the regular season 11-9 and finished third in the North. Both teams await the seed meeting on Saturday.

Gemma Cruz led the Eagles with 14 points, while Jordyn Hurlbert and Jocelyn Crowningshield each netted 10 points. Desiree Doane and Izzy Duga chipped in with 6 points apiece.

Boys Game

FC Tech 60, Westfield Tech 56 — It would have been easy for the Franklin Tech boys basketball team to mail it in for their final game of the season after Tuesday night’s loss to McCann Tech eliminated the Eagles from tournament contention.

It would have been even easier after Westfield Tech came out and took a 21-12 lead after the first quarter. But the Eagles never laid down and wound up fighting back to end the season on a high note with a 60-56 victory, Wednesday in Turners Falls.

The Eagles finished the season 9-11, one win shy of qualifying for the postseason. First-year coach Tim Artus was pleased with the fight his team showed.

“It would have been real easy to come out and feel a little defeated after last night, but instead they came out on a mission,” he said. “It shows how much character these kids have.”

The Eagles trailed 37-31 at halftime but outscored the Tigers 29-19 in the season half.

“We cleaned up our defense,” Artus began. “I was calling it swiss cheese at halftime because it had a lot of holes in it. We cleaned it up and put a little pressure on them and were able to turn them over.”

Garret Cole had a huge night in the win with 21 points, 27 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot. 

Franklin Tech celebrated its three seniors on Senior Night. While Jared Bergmann sat on the bench with an injury, Sim Maniatty and Cole Littlewood each had big games. Maniatty finished with 10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists, while Littlewood had 3 points, six assists and three steals. Bailey Young added 13 points, and Justin Littlewood had 9 points.

Dave Tikhonchuk led Westfield Tech with 23 points.

Frontier 37, Amherst 34

Amherst (34)

Klaes 3-2—10, Nolan 2-0—4, Siegal 0-2—2, Shea 2-2—6, MacPheters 3-6—12. Totals 10-12—34.

Frontier (37)

Walker 1-2—4, Mackin 2-1—5, Sobieski 2-0—4, Deane 5-6—18, Diemand 2-0—4, Sackrey 1-0—2, Bridwell, Doulette, Warren. Totals: 13-9—37.

3-Point Goals: (A) Klaes 2. (F) Deane 2.

Score by quarters:

Palmer 59, Turners Falls 31

Turners Falls (31)

Rollins 5-3—13, Li. Spera 4-1—9, Bogusz 2-1—5, Lu. Spera 1-0—2, Johnson 1-0—2. Totals 13-5—31.

Palmer (59)

Cole 6-2—16, Theriault 3-0—6, Coughlin 6-0—12, Syrek 2-0—4, Mega 2-0—4, Wilson 4-0—9, Dresser 1-0—2, Cookish 2-2—6. Totals: 26-4—59.

3-Point Goals: (P) Cole 2, Wilson.

Score by quarters:

Duggan 48, FC Tech 46

FC Tech (46)

Hurlbert 5-0—10, Cruz 5-3—14, Doane 3-0—6, Crowningshield 5-0—10, Duga 3-0—6, Kucinski. Totals 21-3—46.

Duggan (48)

Franco 4-2—10, Mitchell 5-2—12, Lopez 9-0—23, Oquendo 1-0—2, Skunk 0-1—1. Totals: 19-5—48.

3-Point Goals: (FT) Cruz. (D) Lopez 5.

Score by quarters:

Boys Game

FC Tech 60, Westfield Tech 56

Westfield Tech (56)

Ropel 0-1—1 Tikhonchuk 10-2—23, Sanchez 2-0—4, Sabeleski 4-1—12, Grant 1-0—2, Bush 4-4—12. Totals 21-7—56.

FC Tech (60)

Vielmetti-Perusse 1-2—4, J. Littlewood 4-1—9, Maniatty 5-0—10, Young 4-4—13, Cole 8-5—21, C. Littlewood 1-1—3, Wozniak, McLaughlin. Totals: 23-13—60.

3-Point Goals: (WT)Tikhonchuk, Sabeleski 3 . (FT) Young.

Score by quarters: