After allowing only seven points in the first half of Thursday’s WMass Division 3 boys basketball quarterfinal win over Palmer High School, Frontier Regional School will try to hold down the high-flying Warriors from Narragansett Regional High School.
Tonight’s first semifinal of a tripleheader at Curry Hicks Cage in Amherst features the second-seeded Red Hawks (18-3) against the third seeded Warriors (18-3) in a battle of two very different squads. The game tips off at 5 p.m., followed by the other Division 3 semifinal between Sabis and Wahconah at 6:30, and ending with the Division 4 semifinal between Pioneer and Drury.
One area where the teams are similar is in the size department. As it has all season, Frontier will once again have the two tallest players on the court in the form of senior center Carsten Carey and sophomore forward Peter Carey, who stand at 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10, respectively. Narragansett’s tallest regular is 6-foot-6 center Ben Edwards, but the Warriors feature height across the board as each starter stands at 6-foot-1 or better. Frontier coach Ben Barshefsky said that his team’s size won’t be a difference-maker the way it has at other times this season.
“We don’t necessarily have a size advantage inside,” he began. “Narragansett rebounds the ball very well from each position and on the offensive end, their guards are excellent rebounders as well, so boxing out will be absolutely critical.”
It’s once the ball is rebounded that the teams differ greatly. Narragansett plays an up-tempo style offense, working to quickly move the ball up the court off of defensive rebounds. Frontier, meanwhile, plays a slower, more methodical style and will look to use much of the shot clock.
“They rebound and run the floor well,” Barshefsky said of the Warriors. “Multiple players are able to take the ball off the rim and help them get into their offense, so our transition defense will be absolutely important. That’s not necessarily our style. We love grinding out possessions both on the offensive end and the defensive end, and I think our style could potentially frustrate them.”
Narragansett, which plays a central Mass. schedule, enters the game on a seven-game winning streak. That spree included winning the Small School Division of the Clark Tournament over February vacation, only the second time the team has won that tournament in more than 30 years. Frontier, meanwhile put together a 14-game winning streak during the season, but faltered a bit down the stretch, losing two of its final four games to Greenfield and Smith Academy. The Hawks put any concerns to rest on Thursday by putting on a clinic to rout Palmer.
“Our guys are very confident and focused,” Barshefsky said. “We are showing up to the Cage to do one thing and one thing only, and that’s to advance to Saturday. This is a mentally tough group and it’s not a group that is just happy to be here.”
The biggest question mark heading into the game is the status of Narragansett leading scorer Tyler Dill, who averages 21.1 points per game but missed Thursday’s 74-72 quarterfinal victory over Monument Mountain due to a reported hand injury. The shooting guard would be a welcome sight to Narragansett fans. Junior guard/small forward Freddie Monette-Harris is another weapon to watch after he averaged 18.8 points per game on the season.
When Frontier is successful, the offense is spread around. It begins with the Carey brothers, as Carsten Carey averages 19.4 per game, and Peter Carey averages 8. When defenses begin to collapse down low, it leaves things open to guards Owen Morse (9.8 points per game) and Kalen Evans (8.5 points per game). All four players finished in double figures against the Panthers. Barshefsky also pointed to the play of senior point guard Alex Sharp, who does a great job of taking care of the ball and running the offense.
“He routinely goes unnoticed,” Barshefsky said of Sharp. “The impact he has on the game does not necessarily show up on the stat sheet.”
Frontier’s last trip to Curry Hicks Cage came back in 2009, when the Red Hawks lost to top-seeded Sabis in the semifinals. The year before, Frontier defeated Sabis, 71-57, to win the WMass Division 3 championship en route to a state title. If Frontier wins, it could have another showdown with the Bulldogs in Saturday’s championship game, provided Sabis wins the other semifinal.
The championship game is Saturday at 4.