H.S. basketball: Chase Canon-Smith leads Easthampton boys to 74-65 victory against Hampshire Regional

WESTHAMPTON — The Easthampton boys basketball team bounced back after a season-opening loss with a 74-65 victory over Hampshire Regional on Monday night.

Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the first quarter, with the score at just 12-6 in favor of the Eagles after the first eight minutes of play. The second quarter was a completely different story, especially for Easthampton.

Whether it was layups in transition or deep 3-pointers, the Eagles could barely miss in the second frame, getting out to a huge lead in the process. Moving the ball around made things hard for the Raiders, surrendering countless open looks.

“[Ball movement] just brings the energy,” Easthampton head coach Nick Whitney said. “That means that we’re sharing the ball. Our ball movement just makes everyone want to be a part of the game, and then gives everyone the opportunity to showcase who they can be as a basketball player.”

Starting point guard Chase Canon-Smith served as the Eagles’ main facilitator, using his combination of ball handling and court vision to carve up Hampshire’s defense and consistently find open teammates.

The sophomore has been thrust into a large role to start this season, and so far through two games, has been up to the challenge. Alongside his playmaking, Canon-Smith caught fire himself offensively in the first half.

With 13 of his 16 total points before halftime, Canon-Smith was a huge part of his team getting out to a 39-19 lead after 16 minutes of play.

“[Canon-Smith] might’ve have had 16 points, but he probably accounted for 10 or more points from assists and all that,” Whitney said. “That’s why I want to see from him, his play-making side, and his ability to shoot. He’s one of our best shooters, and probably one of the best shooters in our league.”

Shooting was a focal point for the Eagles on Monday, hitting nine 3-pointers on the night. Although their percentage was high in the first half, once shots starting missing, a window opened for Hampshire to comeback.

The final score may have ended with a nine-point deficit, but midway through the fourth quarter, it truly seemed like it was anyone’s game. The Raiders got aggressive on defense, forcing turnovers and getting inside on the break to generate open looks and free-throws.

Despite surrendering a decent chunk of their lead, the Eagles stayed in control as time ran down in the fourth quarter. A slow and relaxed pace helped to drain the clock, while also giving more time to get open looks.

“It showed our youth, because we took some quick bad shots, which gave [the Raiders] easy baskets,” Whitney said. “I have to do a better job of getting the kids to understand, ‘yeah, we do have a 25-point lead, but let’s take 15 seconds to still get that shot with 10-15 seconds left on the clock, not 25-30 seconds.'”

With four players in double figures, Easthampton was able to spread the ball around, having confidence in each player on the court. Outside of Canon-Smith, the Eagles were led by Ryan Guyette, who finished with 15 points, along with Raemon Mathurin’s 14 and Jay Brown’s 12.

Hampshire had a balanced scoring approach as well, with five players eclipsing 10 points. Isaiah Isa led the way for the Raiders with 16 points, while Vynce Carr, Emmett Schatz and Braylon Jarrett each had 12. Joseph Moro rounded things out with 11 points of his own.

Defensively, Easthampton was a tough unit to score against in the half-court all night long. The team utilizes an aggressive 2-3 zone, with constant rotations that made it hard for Hampshire to get going.

The Raiders tried to shoot their way out of the zone, but struggled to make the limited open looks they could find. All five Eagles on the court prided themselves on creating havoc, using their instincts to keep relentless pressure.

“I think it was all [about] energy, the wings were getting out to take away their threes,” Whitney said. “We forced every difficult shot we wanted to, every shot until the very end was contesting without fouling.”

For Easthampton, the victory means a 1-1 start to the season, with its next matchup on the road on Tuesday, December 16, at 7 p.m. against West Springfield.

Hampshire will look to bounce back after a tough loss, now also 1-1, traveling to Southwick for its next game on Thursday, December 18, at 7 p.m.

“Moving forward, let’s just continue to have fun,” Whitney said. “Our goal is to finish this week three and one, and if we play like we did in the first half, I think we have very good chance… The kids are happy, they’re energetic and they love basketball. They love being around each other all the time. So I’m looking forward to the challenge [on Tuesday].”