HOLYOKE — The Holyoke boys basketball team is learning from its past.
Coming into Monday night’s game against Amherst Regional, four of the Purple Knights’ five losses were decided by four points or less.
As the season has progressed, Holyoke has invested a lot of practice time into conditioning and preparing its defense for specific situations that could change those close losses into wins.
The Purple Knights’ dedication on the defensive end was evident on Monday. Holyoke held the Hurricanes to a combined five points in the second and third quarters and defeated Amherst, 55-35.
Jesus Ibarra scored a team-high 14 points for Holyoke (6-5, 1-2 Valley). Dereck Carattini chipped in 13 points and made three 3-pointers.
Zayd Sadiq scored 12 points for Amherst (4-7, 1-2 Valley).
“We stressed from day one, no matter what defense we play, whether it’s zone or man, locking teams up,” Holyoke coach Juan Maldonado said. “Ultimately that’s what will get us wins at the end of the game.”
Most of the Purple Knights’ scoring opportunities were created by great individual defense that turned into fast breaks.
“We know when we play solid defense, under control, composed, we will get easy offense,” Maldonado said. “If (our opponents) get back on defense we have good enough sets that we can run and get easy buckets. We have a lot of talent on offense. A lot of guys can score in different ways.”
Holyoke’s defense was elite in the second and third quarters, but Amherst took advantage of slow Holyoke defensive rotations and wing defenders leaving shooters open in the corner to start the game.
The Hurricanes’ Isa Castro-McCauley hit a 3-pointer midway through the opening frame to give Amherst a 10-0 lead. Holyoke quickly called timeout.
Maldonado made some substitutions before play resumed. Carattini came off the bench and made two 3s to help swing the momentum back toward the Purple Knights. Carattini’s second 3 came with 50 seconds to go in the quarter and gave Holyoke a 12-10 lead.
“Dereck Carattini came off the bench and sparked it up,” Maldonado said. “He hit a couple of 3s and was ready to play defense. People might think it was the 3s that sparked it up, but it was really the defense. We had a couple of guys that did the same thing. We went to the bench and they did their job.”
As the Purple Knights’ confidence grew, so did their intensity on the defensive end. Holyoke double teamed Amherst players and pressed full court to open the second quarter. The Hurricanes had problems breaking through the pressure and turned the ball over to give Holyoke easy scoring opportunities.
A fast-break layup from the Purple Knights’ Jael Cabrera with 2:54 to go in the first half put Holyoke ahead, 31-18.
“We started out like gangbusters,” Amherst coach Jamahl Jackson said. “But of course you aren’t going to hold that lead. … They made their run and we got behind. … Our whole demeanor went to reacting instead of being the aggressor. … We got flat. It was like quicksand. We couldn’t dig ourselves out.”
The Purple Knights’ defense held Amherst to two points in the third quarter. Carattini made his third 3 of the game and Ibarra scored four points as Holyoke outscored Amherst, 13-2, in the quarter.
“I thought (Holyoke) did a great job continuing to go at us,” Jackson said. “They saw that when a little bit of their pressure aggravated us, they ratcheted it up. We didn’t meet that level of intensity. That’s something we have to get better at. … We’ve got to learn from it.”
The Hurricanes’ offense started to find open passing lanes by running through sets in the final frame. Amherst outscored Holyoke, 14-11, in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough.
The Purple Knights entered the game following losses to Springfield Central and Putnam.
“We’ve had some ups and downs, but this was a good game,” Ibarra said. “This felt good.”
Maldonado and the rest of the Holyoke coaching staff understands the importance of team chemistry. One of the staff’s main goals this season is to make sure this year’s team grows together off the court so they can thrive while they are on the court.
“What we stress is culture,” Maldonado said. “We know basketball. They play it everyday. Basketball is the easy thing. If we can build a good team bond and a brotherhood, we know that they can get out there and trust each other, play together, and play for each other. I’ve seen that grow over the last month.”