ATHOL — A long, frustrating playoff drought is finally over for the Athol High School boys basketball team.
For the first time since 2006, the Red Raiders qualified for the postseason Monday night thanks to a 75-57 win over Smith Academy in Hampshire League North play at Mallet Gymnasium.
Athol came out of firing against the Falcons, building an early double-digit lead. Smith Academy did not make it easy on the Red Raiders, using a third-quarter run to cut the lead to five points.
But Bryce King led a scoring outburst that put away the Falcons.
“I was just trying to lead our players to take better shots,” King said. “Focus on the next play. When we focus on the next play and stop worrying about the past, it seems to work out better for us.”
King scored 20 points and was disruptive on defense. The Red Raiders (9-11, 5-3), which qualified thanks to a second-place tie in the HL North with Greenfield, will now await their seed placement in the upcoming Western Mass. Division 3 tournament. The seeds will be released on Saturday.
“We have the drive,” King said. “Every player knows their role and they don’t try to go past their role. We are a solid team. I would be scared to play us. We are hot.”
Athol’s recent victory over Greenfield changed the team’s season outlook, according to senior Mark Ferrari.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t know where we were,” Ferrari said. “We always said that if we can beat Greenfield, that would be the turning point. When we beat them we were all-in that we could make playoffs.”
Ferrari echoed King’s sentiment about potential playoff opponents worrying about the upstart Raiders.
“We are a hot team going into the playoffs,” Ferrari said. “I just wouldn’t want to play us. We are not scared of anyone.”
Athol won five out of its last six games to clinch a berth in the Big Dance.
“These guys just don’t quit,” Athol coach Dan Bevis said. “They don’t get too down on themselves. They put together a little run. It’s not on me. There’s a lot of people in our program that put time into basketball.
Bevis credited assistant coaches Brian Patria and Nathan Fisher for helping develop players at the junior varsity and middle school level.
“Those guys deserve as much of the credit as the players do,” Bevis said of Fisher and Patria.
The Red Raiders honored seniors Maysin Tarbell, Damian Fields, Nick Bousquet, King, Jaycob LaMarche, Ferrari and Riley Paine in their final home game playing for Athol High School.
“It starts with players,” Bevis said. “This senior class has been committed since they walked in as freshmen to getting better. Playing summer league. Playing outside of the season which is something our program has struggled with.”
Even with the playoff berth, the loudest cheer from the student section came in the waning seconds with the game already well in hand. In his first varsity minutes, Fields picked up a steal around mid-court, sending the fans into a frenzy.
Noah Pottinger came out aggressive for the Red Raiders and finished with 15 points. Vincent Gordon also scored in double-figures with 11 points.
Athol got off to a strong start in the first quarter, using pressure after made baskets to take a sizable 24-9 lead.
The Red Raiders kept the pressure on in the second quarter, building the lead to 36-15 with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in the second quarter.
Smith Academy (5-15, 2-6) went on a run toward the end of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 38-29 at halftime. The Falcons started getting stops to set up their offense, and on the offensive end, the Falcons were efficient in getting good looks in the paint.
Caden Guimond and Wyatt Jeffress hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut the Athol lead to 40-35 in the third quarter. Guimond led the Falcons with 20 points.
A 3-point play and a steal and layup by King helped quell the Smith Academy momentum however, reestablishing a double-digit advantage. The run continued for Athol until the lead was 52-38 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
■ Athol also won the JV game, 70-29, to finish its season with an 11-9 mark.
Dilan Fountain led the way with 14 points, and Connor Mahony drained a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. Jet Castillo added nine points in the victory.
