HS basketball: Northampton qualifies for boys postseason tournament

The Northampton boys basketball team made a statement in the first quarter and it carried through for the rest of the game.

The Blue Devils held Pittsfield to three points in the opening quarter en route to a 65-41 victory, Friday in Northampton.

“We played hard,” Hamp coach Rey Harp said. “We didn’t come out very strong the game before against Holyoke. … We made a point not to do that.”

The win qualified the Blue Devils (6-5) for the postseason. Because Northampton plays over 70 percent of its games against Division 1 teams, all the Blue Devils needed to do was finish .500 or better against their non-Division 1 opponents. Hamp finished 3-3 with the win in its last chance.

“Every game would have been a playoff game,” Harp said. “But we’re still not trying to fast forward to the playoffs.”

Michael McCarthy had eight of his game-high 24 points as Hamp took a 12-3 after the first quarter. The Blue Devils held the Generals (8-4) off before outscoring them 22-7 in the fourth quarter.

McCarthy finished with 21 rebounds. Jaeden Johndrow added 12 points, while Jake Brittain added eight.

Renaissance 68, South Hadley 58 — Hunter Carey scored 19 points in a road loss. Austin Robinette had 12 points, while Kyle Johnson added 12 for the Tigers (2-11).

Girls basketball

Hopkins Academy 57, Putnam 29 — Samantha Jenks poured in a season-high 31 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in a home win.

“She stepped up big,” Hopkins coach Michael Prattico said. “They knocked her out in the tournament in 2015, and she remembered that.”

It was the fourth 30-point game of her career.

Hopkins was playing without leading rebounder A.J. Mitchell. Thea Hanscom filled in with 11 rebounds, while Gabby Palmisano had nine points and seven rebounds for the Golden Hawks (8-4).

Taconic 74, Belchertown 39 — Elise Pikul had seven points, while Jenna Birks and Sonia Dugger each had six, but the Orioles fell on the road.

The Braves (8-2) put Belchertown (4-7) away behind a 22-2 fourth quarter.

South Hadley 49, Granby 39 — Mia Kelly scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds with four steals in a win at the Hoophall Classic at Springfield College’s Blake Arena. She made 12 free throws.

Bella Earle added 10 points on seven free throws. The Tigers went 21 of 25 from the free-throw line.

Bailey Gawron hit two 3s and scored eight points for the Tigers (7-4). Brooke Zatowski had five steals.

Nora Young led the Rams (4-6) with 25 points, hitting four 3s. She grabbed 20 rebounds with five blocks and two steals. Julia Frappier added five points and seven rebounds.

Granby turned the ball over 22 times, and those turned into 28 points for South Hadley.

Drury 50, Hampshire Regional 49 — Maddie Pond scored 17 points and hit two 3s, but the Raiders fell on the road. Lila Labrie added 12 points, while Maggie Rubeck scored eight and Kyleen Labreqcue had seven for Hampshire (7-4).

Pioneer Regional 50, Easthampton 36 — Val Murphy had 21 points with five 3-pointers, but the Eagles (2-8) fell on the road.

Frontier Regional 48, Smith Academy 24 — Three double figure scorers led the Red Hawks (5-5) to a home win, as Amelia Sobeski scored 12, while Kaitlyn Mackin and Ella Deane each added 11.

Emma Kelly had 12 points for the Falcons (5-5).

Girls basketball

Hopkins Academy 57, Putnam 29

Putnam (8-3)

Dzhane 5-0-11, Nyla 2-1-6, Lauryn 1-4-6, Jarinelys 1-0-2, Johanys 2-0-4. Totals 11-5-29

Hopkins Academy (8-4)

Jenks 10-9-31, Palmisano 4-1-9, A. Kowal-Safron 2-2-6, Beauchamp 1-2-5, Boisvert 2-0-4, C. Kowal-Safron 0-1-1, Earle 0-1-1, Hanscom 0-0-0, Dyjach 0-0-0. Totals 19-16-57

3-Pointers—Putnam 2 (Dzhane, Nyla), Hopkins Academy 3 (Jenks 2, Beauchamp)

Taconic 74, Belchertown 39

Belchertown (4-7)

Leblanc 2-1-5, Pikul 3-1-7, Duffy 1-2-4, Klingensmith 1-1-3, Leja 1-0-3, Dugger 2-2-6, Troy 0-1-1, Birks 1-4-6, Medina 1-0-2, LaFlamme 0-0-0, Camerota 1-0-2, Vogel 0-0-0. Totals: 13-12-39

Taconic (8-2)

Bramer 3-1-8, Philips 4-6-15, Curry 4-1-11, Cross 4-0-8, Lyon 2-0-5, Hamilton 4-0-8, Buda 0-1-1, Conyers 6-3-16, Christopher 1-0-2. Totals: 28-12-74

3-Pointers—Belchertown 1 (Leja) Taconic 6 (Bramer, Philips, Curry 2, Lyon, Conyers)

South Hadley 49, Granby 39

Granby (4-6)

Croteau 0-1-1, Frappier 2-0-5, Sexton 1-0-2, McCreaty 2-0-4, Young 8-5-25, Gauvin 1-0-2, Bergeron 0-0-0 . Totals 14-6-39

South Hadley (7-4)

Kelly 5-12-23, Grochowalski 0-0-0, Zatowski 1-0-2, Marjanski 2-2-6, Earle 1-7-10, T. Gawron 0-0-0, B. Gawron 3-0-8, Evans 0-0-0, Sears 0-0-0, Uribe 0-0-0. Totals 12-21-49

3-Pointers—Granby 5 (Frappier, Young 4), South Hadley 4 (Kelly, Earle, B. Gawron 2)

Drury 50, Hampshire Regional 49

Hampshire Regional (7-4)

Labrie 4-3-12, Taylor 0-0-0, B. Salomao 0-0-0, Babyak 0-0-0, Rubeck 3-2-8, Pond 7-1-17, Marek 1-0-2, J. Salomao 0-0-0, Labrecque 3-0-7. Totals 19-7-49

Drury (4-5)

DiGennaro 6-2-15, Shook 2-0-4, Felix 4-0-11, McGrath 1-0-3, Thomas 2-1-5, Zoito 3-2-8, Booth 2-0-4. Totals 20-5-50

3-Pointers—Hampshire Regional (Labrie, Pond 2, Labrecque), Drury 5 (DiGennaro, Felix 3, McGrath)

Pioneer Regional 50,
Easthampton 36

Easthampton (2-8)

Roy 0-0-0, Downer 3-1-7, Murphy 8-0-21, Navarro 1-0-2, H. Coleman 0-0-0, Massa 0-0-0, Bentley 2-0-5, McDermott 0-0-0, A. Coleman 0-1-1, Damon 0-0-0. Totals: 14-2-36

Pioneer (6-5)

Loughman 7-2-17, Scoville 2-5-9, Rowen 6-0-12, Briggs 2-0-4, Flagg 1-0-2, Johnson 1-0-2, Cecunijanian 2-0-4. Totals: 21-7-50

3-Pointers—Pioneer 1 (Loughman) Easthampton 6 (Murphy 5, Bentley)

Frontier Regional 48, Smith Academy 24

Smith Academy (5-5)

Guimond 0-2-2, Kelly 5-2-12, Gilrein 1-0-3, Smiarowski 2-0-4, McCoy 1-0-2, Baranoski 0-1-1. Totals 9-5-24

Frontier Regional (5-5)

Walker 2-2-6, Maes-Polan 1-0-2, Mackin 5-1-11, Sobieski 6-0-12, Doulette 0-1-1, Deane 5-1-11, Diemand 2-1-5, Fuller 0-0-0, Ring 0-0-0, Roberts 0-0-0, Warren 0-0-0. Totals 21-6-48

3-Pointers—Smith Academy 1 (Gilrein)

Boys basketball

Northampton 65, Pittsfield 41

Pittsfield (8-4)

Moorer 6-2-15, Cruz 2-4-8, Jackson 0-1-1, Cracolici 3-0-6, Harley 1-1-3, Matthews 2-3-8. Totals: 14-11-41

Northampton (6-5)

Diemand 0-0-0, Johndrow 4-4-12, McCarthy 10-4-24, Cronk 1-0-3, Rankins 2-0-6, James-Salus 2-0-4, Lanier 0-0-0, Cancil 0-0-0, Finnessey 0-0-0, Watts 0-0-0, Power 1-0-2. Dejesus 2-0-6, Brittain 2-3-8. Totals: 24-11-65

3-Pointers—Pittsfield 2 (Matthews, Moorer) Northampton 6 (Cronk, Rankins 2, Dejesus 2, Brittain)

Renaissance 68, South Hadley 58

South Hadley (2-10)

Borowski 2-1-6, Robinette 5-0-12, Marion 2-0-5, Carey 6-7-19, Dawson 1-1-3, Johnson 4-0-8, Cottingham 2-2-6. Totals 22-11-58

Renaissance (3-9)

Long 4-0-11, Byrd 3-0-9, Sutter 6-0-15, Tyres 4-0-8, Eddy 4-5-13, Cook 1-1-3. Totals 22-6-58

3-Pointers—South Hadley 4 (Borowski, Robinette 2, Marion), Renaissance 9 (Jaylen Long 3, Byrd 3, Sutter 3)