Boys basketball: Dom Sanchez, Smith Vocational take down Hampden Charter for first victory (PHOTOS)

NORTHAMPTON — The Smith Vocational boys basketball team entered the win column after losing its first three games of the season. The Vikings defeated Hampden Charter West 54-37 on their home floor in a Tri-County League South matchup on Tuesday night.

Those three contests that Smith Voc dropped to start the year were all independent games, which don’t count toward league standings. So not only did the Vikings pick up their first win of the season, they also moved to 1-0 in league action.

“Well it’s good to get that first win, but it’s also good because this was a league game,” Smith Voc head coach Akara Holder said. “The three losses we had before were out of league games, so to come in and win when it’s a league game is nice.”

Sophomore Dom Sanchez had a game-high 23 points, scoring from all three levels, to pace the Vikings in the win. Sanchez used his speed to out-run Hampden West defenders in the open floor and convert easy layups in transition. He also stepped behind the line to drill two 3-pointers as well as sink one of two free throws.

Sanchez has been the go-to guy on offense through four games for Smith Voc.

“He’s one of the captains, and he brings a lot of maturity for such a young player,” Holder said. “He’s my playmaker. He knows when I call him over exactly what I’m going to say to him before I even tell him. He’s got a good eye for the court and for the players out there. I don’t really sub him out unless he’s in foul trouble.”

Harrison Roberts got the Vikings’ scoring started with a layup, and Joshua Cole followed suit on the next possession to make it 4-0 Smith Voc. That’s when Holder decided to ramp up the pressure and switch to a full-court press defense.

The press overwhelmed the Lions’ ball handlers, and soon Smith Voc had a 15-2 lead toward the end of the first quarter.

“Once we made those first two baskets without the press, I was like, ‘We’re gonna press right now and try to open that lead,’” Holder said. “That was definitely part of the game plan, and we did a good job of executing it.”

The Vikings continued their strong defense and converted it to easy offense on the other end, taking a 28-13 lead into the halftime break. Their 15-point lead extended to 21 at the end of the third quarter, as Sanchez opened the frame with back-to-back long balls to set the tone.

Cole finished the night with 12 points, and Justin Porter chipped in seven while Roberts added four. Luis Delerme, Brayden Kukucka, Alex Soto, and Trenton Clark each had two points in the win. Smith Voc is a young team from top to bottom with only two seniors on the roster. Less than a month into the season dating back to the first practice, Holder is still trying to get a feel for his new players after graduating six seniors from last season.

“Most of these guys are new to my system and new to me as a coach,” Holder said. “We don’t have the advantage of Suburban teams and things like that where the kids have been playing with each other since fifth or sixth grade. When I get them, I have to corral them as quickly as possible. We’re still trying to figure it all out, but this was a step in the right direction.”

The Lions refused to go down easy even after trailing by as many as 21 points. They turned to a press defense of their own, which forced the Vikings to play much faster than they wanted to and led to out-of-control turnovers. Hampden West cut the lead down to 12 early in the fourth quarter.

“We weren’t setting the offense, and we were shooting the ball too fast,” Holder said. “When we got the ball, we were trying to go too fast, and their press got us moving quicker than we wanted to. We either made decent passes then took bad shots at the basket, or we made a bad pass to the right person at the wrong time. They were getting transition points off that. We needed to slow down.”

Smith Voc hung on and scored six of the game’s final eight points over the last three minutes of game time to seal the deal. The Vikings were without their second leading scorer Miles Chinappa, one of the two seniors on the team. Chinappa is dealing with an ankle injury, one he suffered in their last game against Duggan last Friday. Having him back should boost the potential of the team.

“It’s not as bad as they originally thought, but it’s still bad,” Holder said. “We’re already a young team, without him we’re even younger. Whenever he comes back, he comes back. It’ll definitely help.”

Smith Voc (1-3) doesn’t play again until after Christmas, returning to action against St. Mary’s on Dec. 27 at 6:30 p.m.