SPRINGFIELD – The path to the Cage is now officially set.
Seeds and brackets for the Western Mass. Basketball Tournaments were released Saturday afternoon at the Basketball Hall of Fame. First round games begin for the girls teams on Monday night, while boys games kick off tournament action on Tuesday night.
After earning a spot at the Cage in the semifinals a year ago, the Frontier boys team has the inside track on a return trip after earning the No. 3 seed in the Division 3 field. The Red Hawks are the highest-seeded team in the Recorder area.
Frontier will meet No. 14 Athol in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday in South Deerfield. The winner will meet the winner of the game between No. 6 Monument Mountain and No. 11 Palmer in the quarterfinal round. The Hawks have home court advantage until the semifinal round.
Elsewhere in Division 3, No. 8 Greenfield will host a first-round game Tuesday night against No. 9 Mount Greylock. The winner of that tilt will meet top-seeded Narragansett, last year’s D3 runner-up, on the road in the quarterfinal round on Friday night.
The Mahar boys team earned the No. 10 seed and will travel to play at No. 7 South Hadley in the opening round of the D3 tourney on Tuesday night. The winner will play at No. 2 Sabis in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
The Division 4 draw features an all-local first-round game on Tuesday night. The Battle for the Powertown, Part Deux, will see No. 7 Turners Falls hosting No. 10 Franklin Tech at 7 p.m. The winner of that contest will travel to No. 2 Drury in the quarterfinal round on Friday night.
Baystate Academy is the No. 1 seed in the Division 4 field.
DIVISION 3
1. Narragansett
2. Sabis
3. Frontier
4. Wahconah
5. Renaissance
6. Monument Mt.
7. South Hadley
8. Greenfield
9. Mount Greylock
10. Mahar
11. Palmer
12. Murdock
13. Hoosac Valley
14. Athol
DIVISION 4
1. Baystate Academy
2. Drury
3. Hopkins Academy
4. Monson
5. Lenox
6. Ware
7. Turners Falls
8. Duggan Academy
9. Granby
10. Franklin Tech
11. Hampden Charter
12. Westfield Tech
13. Smith Vocational
The Greenfield girls will also have home court until the semifinal round in their pursuit of another trip to the Cage.
The Green Wave earned the No. 4 seed in the D3 girls field, and will receive a first-round bye as a result. Greenfield will host a quarterfinal game on Thursday night against the winner of No. 5 Sabis and No. 12 Easthampton, with that first-round game set for Monday night in Springfield.
After an initial error by the tournament committee due to having an incorrect record, the seeds shifted a bit further down the bracket. Locally, No. 8 Frontier will host a first round game Monday night when the Red Hawks welcome No. 9 Palmer to South Deerfield. Mahar, seeded 10th in the D3 field, will travel to play at No. 7 South Hadley, just like the boys team.
The winner of the Frontier-Palmer game will travel to top-seeded Wahconah in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, while the Mahar-South Hadley winner heads to No. 2 Hampshire.
In Division 4, the Franklin Tech girls team was rewarded for its fine season with the No. 5 overall seed. The Eagles will host No. 12 Pathfinder in the opening round on Monday night, and a win would set up a quarterfinal game against the winner of No. 4 Lee and No. 13 St. Mary’s.
The Pioneer girls round out the local sides, and the Panthers drew the No. 10 seed in the field. Pioneer will travel to No. 7 McCann Tech for an opening-round game on Monday, with the winner set to play either No. 2 Ware or No. 15 Gateway.
Monson drew the No. 1 seed in the D4 field.
DIVISION 3
1. Wahconah
2. Hampshire
3. Hoosac Valley
4. Greenfield
5. Sabis
6. Granby
7. South Hadley
8. Frontier
9. Palmer
10. Mahar
11. Mount Greylock
12. Easthampton
DIVISION 4
1. Monson
2. Ware
3. Lenox
4. Lee
5. Franklin Tech
6. Hopkins Academy
7. McCann Tech
8. North Brookfield
9. Putnam
10. Pioneer
11. Hampden Charter
12. Pathfinder
13. St. Mary’s
14. Duggan Academy
15. Gateway