SOUTH DEERFIELD — Frontier’s Dylan Martin put a damper in the Smith Academy boys basketball teams return to the court Wednesday.
The Falcons — who didn’t have a season last year — played their first game in two years on Wednesday at Goodnow Gymnasium, but it was Martin who stole the show.
The senior erupted for 17 points in the first quarter, knocking down seven 3s in the contest to finish with a career-high 27, as the Redhawks pulled out a 65-55 victory.
“I feel amazing,” Martin said. “I don’t get the ball without my teammates getting me open. They know when I get hot, but they did a great job getting me the ball. Everyone played their role. It was a great team effort.”
With Martin handling the offensive load, Frontier coach Ben Barshefsky was impressed with the way center Erich Brown played down low filling in for the injured Joe Thomson.
Brown finished with seven points but played a big role on the glass, creating second chance opportunities for the Redhawks (2-0).
“Dylan played great,” Barshefsky said. “He’s a great shooter and we’ve seen him do stuff like that before. Erich Brown is a guy who is getting his feet wet in varsity. He’s a workhorse. It might not have shown up in the stat sheet but he played physical and battled inside and was a big reason we got the win.”
For Smith Academy, the first game back was going to be a challenge, but coach Matt Zerneri was pleased with how his team adapted after not facing competition in two years.
“It’s a great feeling being back out here on the sideline,” Matt Zerneri said. “I didn’t get to coach last year, so I’m rusty as well. I felt like I could have done a better job with in-game adjustments. I thought we played hard. We executed decently — there’s some things we need to clean up — but I’m happy with the effort.”
Martin opened the game with a 3-pointer and kept that rhythm going throughout the first quarter. Leading 17-12, Martin raced down the court after receiving an outlet pass and attacked the rim for two.
Having already made four 3s in the frame, Martin pulled up from a step over half court as the first quarter buzzer sounded, and the shot hit nothing but net, giving Frontier a 25-12 advantage after eight minutes.
The Falcons went on a pair of runs in the second quarter to get back in the game. Griffin Smiarowski knocked down a 3, scored inside before Caden Guimond converted an and-one to cap off an 8-0 and cut the Redhawk lead to 30-20.
Later in the second quarter, Smith Academy went on another 8-0 run behind three points each from Smiarowski and Guimond and a pair of free throws by Logan Graves to make it 34-28 Frontier going into the half.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter, with Frontier holding a 47-39 advantage heading into the fourth.
Zerneri was proud of the fight his team showed throughout the game to get back in the game when it looked like the Redhawks were on the verge of breaking things open.
“I was shocked with how well we handled the speed of the game,” Zerneri said. “I expected us to be a step slow, and we came out and weren’t. I was impressed by that and really happy with the effort we put forth.”
In the fourth, a quick 8-0 run by Frontier early in the frame proved to be the difference. Leading 49-43, Martin swished a 3-pointer, Dante Ruggiano made a pair from the charity stripe and Patrick Boyden knocked down a corner three to extend the Redhawk lead to 57-43.
The Falcons were never able to get the Frontier lead down to single-digits from that point on.
“We played with effort,” Barshefsky said. “We need to sustain that while also making good decisions with the ball and on the court.”
With a pair of wins to start the season, the Redhawks are hoping to keep the streak going and continue putting tallies in the win column.
“We’re feeling good,” Martin said. “We’re missing Joe, but people are stepping up. A lot of guys are playing well. We have to keep this rolling and keep on winning. We want to defend the nest and not lose at home.”