NORTHFIELD — After nearly a year removed from playing games, it was expected that both the Pioneer and Hopkins Academy boys basketball teams would take time to settle in on the offensive end of the court during both teams’ season openers.
Both teams struggled offensively at the half Wednesday, leading to a 17-17 deadlock with the squads still getting their sea legs underneath them.
Each team settled into the game in the second half, but it was the host Panthers that were able to get into the paint and convert more opportunities, leading to a 53-45 victory at Messer Gymnasium.
Andrew Ciaglo led the Golden Hawks with 14 points. Braeden Tudryn finished with 10 points and Addison Phifer and Colin Earle each had eight points in the loss.
“It’s terrific we get an opportunity to play,” Hopkins coach Adam Ginsburg said. “It’s a collaborative effort from administrators, athletic directors, coaches, referees, players, parents. Everyone has to collaborate more, which I think is good. It’s great they can compete. I applaud the MIAA and administrators for really being detailed and precautious and setting up the protocols so the players have a chance to play. Pioneer is a very well-coached team. They have their identity of what they do as a team. They were sharp early.”
It was Quinn Grover who established himself for Pioneer in the second half, scoring 17 of his team-high 19 points in the final 16 minutes of action.
Jared Hubbard joined him in double figures with 13 points while Troy Emond and Jayden Fox each chipped in six points for the Panthers.
“I’m pleased with how we played,” Pioneer head coach Scott Thayer said. “Hopkins is a really good team who brought everyone but one [player] back from last season. We knew it was going to be a tough game. It looked like at the end we had some legs and knocked down our foul shots.”
In a normal season, the matchup between Pioneer and Hopkins would be a highly-anticipated tilt, as both have made runs in the Western Mass. Div. 4 tournament over the years. The teams met in the 2018 WMass title game, with Pioneer scoring the victory.
Wednesday’s win enabled Pioneer to see how it might stack up against one of the top teams they expect to face this season.
“It’s been weird just playing against each other for a while there,” Hubbard said. “It’s nice seeing where we stand within the division. They’re one of the top teams that we’ll play this year. I like where we are. Getting a win in our first game is huge.”
The intensity was high from the start, as both sides adjusted to the speed of playing against another team. Ciaglo finished with seven points in the first eight minutes of action to put his Hawks up 11-10 after one.
The second quarter was a defensive struggle, with the two teams combining for 13 points in the period.
“In your first game, everybody is a little geeked up,” Thayer said. “You’re playing a tick faster than you would in practice. You’re sucking on your mask harder than you do in practice, that’s why you saw the sloppy play and a lot of missed shots. We were just going quick.”
Grover carried the Panthers in the third quarter by scoring eight points to put Pioneer ahead 30-25 entering the fourth.
His strong play carried into the final quarter, where he scored seven points in a row to put the Panthers ahead 44-36 with three minutes to play. From there, Hopkins played the foul game but Pioneer was red hot at the charity stripe, knocking down seven late free throws to seal the win.
“I thought we played with a lot more poise in the second half,” Hubbard said. “We let their defense dictate our offense instead of forcing stuff. In the first half, we had great looks, we just didn’t hit them.”
Pioneer turns around and plays Greenfield tonight on the road while Hopkins heads to Hadley for its home opener against Mahar.