Tionne Brown is making a habit of late-game finishes in 2016.
Just over a month ago, Brown threw a last-second touchdown pass to lead the Turners Falls High School football team to the Western Massachusetts Division IV-A crown and on Thursday night he struck again.
Brown took a pass on the right elbow with two seconds left and knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to lift the Indians to a 46-44 win over Greenfield High School in a Hampshire League boys’ basketball game in Turners Falls.
The game was tied with 18 seconds left when the Indians (4-0) inbounded the ball and quickly worked it up the court where Brown kicked it to Nick Croteau in the corner for a look at a 3-pointer. The shot rimmed out, but the rebound was grabbed by Anthony Peterson, who kicked it back out to Croteau, who attempted another shot. This time, the shot was blocked by a Green Wave defender, but Turners Falls forward Josh Obuchowski battled for the loose ball and kept the possession alive for the Indians. He found Brown with two seconds left and the Turners Falls guard hit the jumper to break the tie and keep the Indians unbeaten.
“It was just pure hard work to get three shots on that one possession,” Turners Falls assistant Jay Liimatainen said. “That play doesn’t happen if the entire team doesn’t hustle.”
While the offensive heroics provided the memorable moment on the night, much of the game was about the defense played by both teams, as neither squad was able to hit 50 points.
Brown and Obuchowski each led the Indians with 11 points, and Brown added 7 rebounds to his stat line. Croteau finished with 9 points, and Jovani Williams and Peterson each had 6. Kyle Bergmann had 1 point and a team-high 8 boards.
Kevin Mendez led the Green Wave with 15 points, while Zach Avery notched 8. Tyler Boissonneault finished with 6 points, and Hunter Campbell chipped in 5.
Pioneer 59, Frontier 34 — Pioneer Valley Regional School turned in a solid defensive effort on Thursday night and dumped Frontier Regional School, 59-34, in a Hampshire League boys’ basketball game at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.
The Panthers continued to work on the defensive end under first-year coach Scott Thayer, who said he has been pleased to see continued growth by his team.
“It was just a sustained effort throughout the night. We played with great energy,” Thayer said. “Their feet were always moving, and their hands were always moving. We are seeing incremental improvement. It’s a process, and the kids are sticking to the process. Don’t get me wrong, we had breakdowns, but it’s less than we had in our first scrimmage, and less than we had in our second scrimmage.”
Pioneer led 21-12 after the first quarter and then held Frontier to two points in the second quarter, seven in the third, and 13 in the fourth.
Mike Menard led Pioneer with 15 points, which included three 3-pointers. Tyler Martin added 12 points, 4 steals and 6 assists, and Tucker Llewelyn added 9. Jordan Loughman finished with 2 points and 5 steals.
Pathfinder 56, FC Tech 48 — Ted King scored 16 points on Thursday to lead Pathfinder Regional Technical High School to a 56-48 win over Franklin County Technical School in a Tri-County League boys’ basketball game in Three Rivers.
Andrew Roman added 14 points in the win, and Barry Goodreau chipped in 7.
Colin Gould led the Eagles with 18 points, and Joel Farrick and Jared Bergmann each chipped in 11.
Monument Mt. 47, Mahar 46 — Addie McLaughlin hit a 3-pointer with two seconds to go and Monument Mountain Regional High School completed a fourth-quarter comeback to sink Mahar Regional School, 47-46, in an independent girls’ basketball game Thursday night at Grzesik-Bixby Gymnasium in Orange.
Mahar took a 36-29 lead into the fourth quarter but Monument stormed back and trailed by two points in the final seconds when McLaughlin, who already hit three 3-pointers earlier in the game, pulled up from 25 feet and sank the game-winner.
The Senators (2-3) had plenty of chances to put the game out of reach but struggled from the free throw line, making just 6-of-26 from the line, which allowed the Spartans to come from behind.
“It never should have gotten down to the end if we had made our foul shots,” Mahar coach Larry Fisher lamented.
McLaughlin finished with 14 points to pace Monument, and Meri Powell added 11 points.
Kenzie Tenney led Mahar with 12 points, and Kadie Jillson finished with 8. Cassie Verheyen had 7 points and 14 rebounds, and Hannah Paul and Jasmine Vautour each added 6 points.
Athol 49, Clinton 45 — Hope Parker scored 17 points and Athol High School earned its first win of the season with a 49-45 victory over Clinton High School in the Clinton Christmas Tournament in girls’ basketball action Thursday in Clinton.
The win was also the first for first-year Athol head coach Amber Parker, who watched her team have two very big offensive quarters — scoring 18 points in both the first and third quarters — and two unimpressive offensive quarters — scoring six points in the second and seven in the fourth.
“We are playing with only two players with varsity experience and this game was very indicative of an inexperienced team,” Parker said. “We had two great quarters, and two where we disappeared. I feel like we have to score in the 50s in order to compete with most of the teams on our schedule, and we came close to that tonight.”
Clinton was unable to finish off a comeback in the fourth quarter. One reason was the defensive play of Athol’s Beth Wrigley, who had two defensive rebounds and a steal late in the game.
Julia Carey added 13 points in the win, and Jess Soucie tossed in 8.
Nelly Meunier finished with 20 points for Clinton, and Alyssa Hatch added 10.
Athol takes on Oakmont Regional High School in the championship game of the four-team tournament tonight at 7.
Athol 48, Granby 36 — Athol registered five pins on Thursday night and went on to defeat Granby High School, 48-36, in an independent wrestling match in Athol.
Caleb Cox pinned Jacob Benson one second before the end of the first period at 113 pounds to notch six points for Athol, and Merrick Decker followed suit at 120 pounds with a pin over Jack Kent 1:29 into the match.
Kedrick Raymond scored the fastest pin of the night for Athol with a 25-second victory over Eric Puffer at 132 pounds, and Mike Gray bested Ben Rokowski in 2:50 at 152. Chris Waslaske pinned Eddie Giaszcz 47 seconds into the bout at 170 for the fifth Athol pin.
Athol also won three matches by forfeit.