NORTHFIELD — It’s playoff mode for the rest of the season for the Pioneer Valley Regional School boys basketball team.
The Panthers took a step toward a postseason berth Monday night, coming from behind to capture a 65-57 win over Mahar in a Hampshire League South contest at Messer Gymnasium.
Rocking a pair of Air Jordan sneakers normally designated for the Western Mass. tournament, Pioneer head coach Scott Thayer said the postseason is right now with three games left in the season.
“We are one and done now,” Thayer said. “You have to leave it all out there and give yourself an opportunity. I don’t want to hear ‘Should, coulda, woulda.’”
Pioneer (7-10, 2-4) fell behind early at against the Senators (8-9, 2-4), but rallied to keep its slim postseason chances alive.
After trailing by double-digits in the first half, a second-effort basket by Jared Hubbard gave the Panthers a 47-46 lead in the third quarter.
Pioneer got big plays from up-and-down the roster. Jayden Fox led the way for Pioneer with 16 points.
“It’s important to have everyone on board,” Fox said. “One person can drive to the hoop and make a couple buckets then they are more focused on that. Then you can kick and have somebody wide open every time. The ball always moves to get a good look.”
Fox repeatedly gashed the Senators with left-handed drives all the way to the rim.
“They can sit on my left,” Fox said. “But I can go right too. But once I get a couple dribbles on the left side it’s a stronger push.”
Pioneer next plays at Hopkins Academy on Thursday. The club needs to win its final three games to punch a ticket into the Division 4 tourney.
“It’s all or nothing,” Fox said. “It’s always on your mind. But once the game stops, the butterflies go away and you just have to play your game.”
Mahar held a 37-30 lead at halftime. The offense slowed down in the third quarter with only nine points in the frame for the Senators.
That drought coincided with Pioneer’s offense starting to click.
“When they were making their offense move or we were in an offensive set with ball movement, it didn’t look panicked,” Thayer said. “It was calm and in slow motion, but they were being really aggressive. We have to get the game slowed down mentally.”
Zack Notre had a strong game in the paint for Mahar with 16 points. Both Jake Tenney and Charlie Barnes saw waves of defenders against multiple defensive sets throughout the game.
“If (Barnes) was going to come off screens, we wanted to double,” Thayer said. “Jake Tenney hurt us the last game. We would put a spy on them when they penetrated.”
Barnes scored 16 points with Tenney adding another 13.
The Senators remain two wins away from a playoff berth themselves with three games to go. They next play at Belchertown on Thursday before a home game against Turners Falls and an away date at Leominster.
Troy Emond (12 points), Hubbard (11 points), Ryan Potter (10 points) and Sam Glazier (10 points) all hit double-figures for Pioneer in a well-balanced effort.
The Senators started quickly in the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Barnes made it 7-0 early, leading to a Pioneer timeout.
An extra pass from the corner from Cecilio Sanchez opened up Tenney for a 3-pointer later in the corner. The shot made the score 14-5.
Fox started to get going for Pioneer with seven points in the first quarter.
Pioneer managed to cut the lead down to 31-28 with 3-pointers by Sean Allen and Hubbard in the second quarter.
Glazier went 1-for-2 at the free throw line in the third quarter to tie the game at 44-44.
Emond hit a pair of free throws late in the third quarter to give Pioneer a 49-46 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
A strong hook from Glazier upped the lead for Pioneer to 54-48 early in the fourth.
Pioneer went 6-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to help seal the game.
