ATHOL — The Athol boys basketball team managed to hold off Pioneer Valley Regional in a 46-42 win in Hampshire North play at Mallet Gymnasium on Friday.
The Bears (7-5, 5-3 Hampshire North) built a 12-point lead in the third quarter but the Panthers came all the way back to tie the game with five minutes, 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Dominik St. Andre then scored on strong take near the rim to give Athol a 37-35 lead. The Bears hit enough free throws down the stretch to protect the lead and pick up the victory over the Panthers (0-11, 0-7 Hampshire North).
“Give them (Pioneer) credit,” Athol coach Brian Patria said. “They are getting better and working hard. They play very, very aggressive. They don’t give up. They are pretty resilient.”
A 12-0 run to begin the third quarter got things going in the right direction for the Bears after a lackluster first half.
“We were just making bonehead plays,” Patria said. “Just making some mistakes. A lot of turnovers. Giving them second chances. In the second half we had to go out and play aggressive defense, work on our trapping. We also wanted to establish the paint with [Ethan Goodwin].”
Goodwin had eight of his 12 points in the third quarter. Karim Thompson also had 12 points for the Bears. Pioneer quickly got back into the game and went into the third quarter trailing, 35-29.
“I think they just kind of caught us off guard,” Thompson said. “They played a lot better than when we played them last time. In the end we just came together. We all locked in. We all focused…we know we are the better team at the end of the day. We just had to focus and play our best.
Judah Glenn scored 22 points for the Panthers. Matt Richotte added 14 points. At the beginning of the season, Pioneer lost to Athol by 26 points.
“It’s defense,” Pioneer coach Seth Kratz said. “The offense is coming together. They are running the plays a little bit better. I think our defense and effort and energy has been there all year. Just a matter of scoring the ball. It’s tough to win when you don’t score.”
The Bears went 7-for-15 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. This gave the Panthers a sliver of hope in the final minute. Richotte managed to get fouled making a 3-pointer. RIchotte then missed his free throw on purpose, gained possession and scored again for the Panthers.
After the dramatic turn of events, the Bears lead was only 45-42 with 3.2 seconds left in the game. Pioneer then fouled Ethan Heuer, who closed out the game going 1-for-2 from the line.
Pioneer travels to Frontier on Tuesday. The Bears are at Greenfield on Monday.
Frontier 68, Mahar 47 — The Redhawks picked up the road win over the Senators in Hampshire North play. Max Millette scored 31 points for Frontier (13-1, 8-0). Garrett Dredge (11 points) and Ty Skroski (10 points) were also in double figures for the Redhawks.
Kayden McGivern and Clayde Thompson both had 10 points for the Senators (3-10, 3-5).
Greenfield 75, Hopkins Academy 44 — The Green Wave cruised to a victory over the Golden Hawks in Hadley. Grayson Thomas had 39 points and 10 rebounds for the Green Wave (8-3, 6-1) in the Hampshire North contest.
Thomas is now seven points away from 1,000 for his career at Greenfield. The Green Wave host Athol on Monday. Conner Bergeron added 19 points for the Wave.
Turners Falls 86, Westfield Tech 50 — The offense erupted for the Thunder in the home win over the Tigers. Kainen Stevens dropped 20 points in the Tri-County North victory for the Thunder (3-9, 2-7)
Jackson Cogswell (16 points), Brayden Sloan (10 points), Cam Johnson (13 points) and Freilyn Abarua (14 points) all reached double-figures for the Thunder.
Girls basketball
Frontier 59, Southwick 40 — Addie Harrington scored 25 points and corralled 10 rebounds for the Redhawks in the road win over the Rams in independent play.
Harper Modestow added 13 points with six rebounds for Frontier (11-2)
Smith Academy 26, Pioneer 24 — The Falcons edged the Panthers in Hatfield in a Franklin South contest. A late turnover doomed the Panthers (7-4, 5-3). Kyler McClelland scored 10 points for Pioneer. Jaelyn Boliski added four points.
Putnam 65, Turners Falls 22 — The Thunder couldn’t hang with the Beavers in a loss in Springfield. Jojo Hayman scored 10 points for the Thunder. Ivy Lopez added seven points for Turners Falls (0-12, 0-6 Tri County North)
Hopkins Academy 24, Franklin Tech 19 — Sarah Beckwith scored eight points for the Eagles in the home loss against the Golden Hawks in Franklin South play.
Brayleigh Burgh added five points for Franklin Tech (4-9, 1-7). Samantha Duncan worked the glass with nine rebounds.
Lee 60, Mohawk 26 — The Warriors (5-7) lost in Buckland in an independent contest. Sadie Wilcox had nine points. Emmalee Inman and Zephyr Jetzon both added six points for Mohawk.
