TURNERS FALLS — Chace Novak and Anthony Peterson had the offense flowing for the Turners Falls boys basketball team on Wednesday night.
Peterson scored 24 points, with Novak finishing with 19 for the Thunder in a 57-44 win over Mahar Regional at home in Hampshire League South play.
The duo cleaned up from outside against Mahar. Novak hit three 3-pointers during the game.
Peterson heated up early in the contest, scoring 12 points in the first quarter alone, where the Thunder built up a double-digit lead.
“It’s all teamwork,” Peterson said. “We have been working on it in practice. Getting open shots and thinking that everything is going in. All as a team.”
Peterson hit several midrange jumpers, and added two 3-pointers.
Turners Falls (2-7, 1-3 HLS) took a 19-8 lead after the first quarter and thwarted multiple comeback attempts with clutch outside shots.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Peterson said. “You just have to control it. When you are on defense, stop them, and then you will have a run. We just have to win. Each game at a time.”
Turners Falls struggled to start the season but might have played its best game of the season against the Senators, especially defensively.
“We had a goal to hold them under 50 points tonight,” Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins said. “If we hold them to under 50, we have a chance to win the ball game. I thought they gave a good effort. We didn’t give them second shots. That was huge.”
Peterson and Novak controlled the glass with 16 and eight rebounds, respectively. Early in the fourth quarter, Mahar’s Charlie Barnes hit a short jumper to cut the Turners’ lead to 44-36.
Peterson had the answer from deep, making the score 47-36 heading into the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
“We made some shots,” Mullins said. “We got some big baskets. Hopefully we can put together some wins. We took a step in the right direction.”
Mahar (4-4, 2-2) got off to a rough start, with three turnovers on its first three possessions, which led to an immediate timeout from coach Chad Softic.
“Highly disappointing in us,” Softic said. “Three turnovers to start the game.”
Turnovers were a problem for the Senators and the shooting was not on target. The Senators shot 30 percent from the floor and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
“There’s been no self correction,” Softic said. “Too many occasions this season, we walk onto the floor and think we are better than the other team. We are just not.”
The Senators play at Greenfield on Friday night.
“This week we have to get back to Mahar basketball,” Softic said. “Outwork the other teams and outsmart them. Have awareness. We had no awareness tonight. Peterson and Novak … open looks all night.”
Matt Lyesiuk led the Senators with 10 points with three 3-pointers on nine attempts.
Novak hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter to up the lead to 17-6 before a steal and a finish by Marcus Sanders.
Sanders scored five points for the Thunder.
The run allowed the Thunder to enter the second quarter with a double-digit lead.
Peterson hit an open 3-pointer in the second quarter to give Turners a 31-16 lead going into the intermission.
The Senators used a press to cut the lead to nine points in the third quarter.
Zack Notre (six points) scored a fast-break layup before a Gavin Sullivan 3-pointer.
Novak and Peterson answered for the Thunder, increasing the lead to 44-30. Novak did it with a basket plus a foul, while Peterson made a jumper to slow down Mahar’s comeback attempt.
Jaden Whiting did well in man-to-man defense on Barnes, who was limited to three points.
Jake Tenney scored seven points for the Senators, all in the third quarter.
