NORTHFIELD — After winning the Western Mass. Class D title in 2023, the Pioneer boys basketball team was knocked out in the semifinals of the sectional tournament a season ago. 

The top-seeded Panthers made sure that wouldn’t be the case this winter. 

It didn’t take long for Pioneer to take command in its semifinal contest against fifth-seeded Smith Academy on Wednesday, as Kurt Redeker tossed in 13 of his game-high 27 points in the opening eight minutes to give the Panthers a 23-2 lead after one. 

That set the tone for the rest of the night, as Pioneer advanced to the Class D championship game with a 61-23 victory at Messer Gymnasium. 

"We’re moving on,” Panthers coach Scott Thayer said. “This is the time of year where you just want to have a chance at success. We got into the [championship] game and now we have a chance. We’ll take a couple days to get rested up and see what we can do.” 

Pioneer (20-0) will face the winner of No. 2 Duggan and No. 3 Hoosac in the title game on Saturday at a location and time to be determined. The Panthers beat both the Jayhawks and Hurricanes during the regular season. 

“It helps and it hurts [having played both before],” Thayer said. “Having beaten both of them, the kids have a tendency to think that they’re OK, which is not the fact. In games like this you don’t mind being the underdog. We have to go in with a good mindset and play free and easy. 

“Whatever team we play will be a rock fight,” Thayer added. “They’re well coached. [Hoosac coach] Billy [Robinson] and [Duggan coach] Lavar [Click] both do a great job. The kids will play hard. We’re just happy to have the opportunity and we’ll do our best to take advantage of it.” 

Redeker — who now needs just six points to hit the 1,000 point milestone — opened the game with a pair of baskets before Brayden Thayer knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Redeker added a trey of his own to give the Panthers a 10-0 lead with 3:33 to go in the first quarter. 

Cameron Graves got Smith Academy (12-8) on the board with a shot inside but Pioneer closed the quarter on a 13-0 run behind a 3-pointer and a basket in the paint from Thayer, a trio of buckets from Redeker and an Alex McClelland layup in transition to give the Panthers their 23-2 lead after one. 

The pace slowed down dramatically in the second quarter, with Jackson Glazier, Thayer and McClelland hitting 3s while the Pioneer defense held the Falcons to just five points in the quarter to give the Panthers a 32-7 lead at intermission. 

“We were preaching yesterday in practice to be hungry, respect your opponent and play to the standards you’re supposed to play,” Scott Thayer said. “We did that. Holding someone to seven points [in a half] is a testament to our kids getting in their stance, communicating and moving their feet. I was proud of that and it carried over into the second half.”

Smith Academy opened the second half with a pair of baskets but after a Scott Thayer timeout, Redeker scored a trio of baskets, Thayer hit a his fourth 3-pointer of the day before Glazier put in a pair of baskets, helping the Panthers take a 47-15 lead into the fourth, where they were able to cruise to a victory. 

Redeker pulled down 12 boards to go along with his 27 points, Thayer scored 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, Glazier tallied seven points while McClelland had five points, five assists, six rebounds and three steals in the winning effort. 

Non-playoff games

Sci-Tech 67, Greenfield 64 – Grayson Thomas’ 24 points led four Green Wave players in double figures in a non-playoff loss to Sci-Tech on Wednesday.

Caleb Murray scored 13 points, Jon Breor scored 11 and Caleb Thomas added 10 for Greenfield, which closed its regular season 10-10 and now awaits its seeding in the MIAA Division 4 tournament. The Cybercats trailed 52-41 entering the fourth quarter but outscored Greenfield 26-12 in the final frame. 

Frontier 54, Belchertown 53 — Trailing 38-31 going into the fourth, the  Redhawks turned things up a notch. 

Frontier outscored the Orioles 23-15 in the final eight minutes to finish the regular season with a 12-8 record following a triumph in Belchertown on Wednesday. 

It was Max Millette who hit a free throw late to give the Redhawks the win. 

“Max was phenomenal in the second half,” Frontier coach Josh Morse said. “Our defense really stepped up.” 

Millette finished with 25 points, Rowan Modestow tallied 13 points while Garrett Dredge and Alex Ellis both added eight points in the victory.