To capture its first Western Massachusetts Division 1 championship since 2003 on Friday, the Amherst Regional boys basketball team will have to beat a juggernaut.
Standing in the Hurricanes’ way is top-seeded Central (18-2), a team without a discernible weakness. The championship is at the Curry Hicks Cage at 7:45 p.m.
The Golden Eagles can play inside, they can play outside and they defend at a high level.
“Central is a very talented team,” Amherst’s Seth Bella-Hunter said. “They play well together and make minimal mistakes. If you come out scared they will run you out of the gym.”
Josh Pressley and Jorge Torres are Central’s leading scorers. Earlier in the season, the Golden Eagles beat the Hurricanes 75-52 in Amherst.
Central survived a scare from No. 4 Holyoke in the semifinals but won 65-56.
“We saw against Holyoke that they can be rattled,” Amherst coach Jim Matuszko said. “They only have three seniors so they maybe they can be vulnerable in that way.”
Delivering Amherst’s first boys basketball championship in 14 years would be monumental for the Hurricanes. This is Amherst’s third straight appearance in the final.
“We owe it to not only ourselves but everyone who’s supported us this whole time,” Bella-Hunter said. “It’s finally here, so it’s time to go get it.”
A potential issue for the Hurricanes is they simple don’t have the depth to make many substitutions against the Golden Eagles, so avoiding foul trouble will be a necessity.
Meikkel Murray has accomplished a lot in his senior season, scoring his 1,000th point and then willing the Hurricanes to the championship game. But the Hurricanes will need even more from him if they want to beat Central.
“Teams try different things to stop him,” Matuszko said. “But he always figures it out.”
Murray will get a lot of attention from Central’s defense, which will open up shots for the rest of the Hurricanes. In the first game against Central, the Golden Eagles played man to man with a lot of double teams on Murray.
“After watching the film, we need to move much more without the ball,” Matuszko said.
Meikyle Murray, Tajahn Joyner and Will Budington will have opportunities as a result of the defensive attention on Meikkel Murray.
Bella-Hunter’s ability to protect the rim will be important for Amherst, but he will need to do it without fouling. On offense, Bella-Hunter’s mid-range game will need to be effective.
Thomas Perry, Arlo Blanchard and Tate Reitkerk will spell the starters and will need to play mistake free when they are on the court for Amherst.
Joyner, who is battling knee and wrist injuries, missed two days of practice this week but is playing Friday.
