H.S. Roundup: Easthampton boys basketball wins big on senior night

EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton boys basketball team finished its six game home stand with a 64-38 victory over Lenox on Friday, which also coincided with its senior night celebrations.

The seniors for the Eagles showed up in a big way on Friday, with five different players appearing in their final regular season game at home.

Jay Brown led the way for Easthampton’s veteran group, finishing with a game-high 20 points in the win. The senior was a force to be reckoned with on the glass as well, attacking rebounds on both ends.

“I’m seeing more consistency from [Brown],” Eagles head coach Nick Whitney said. “He’s like a bull down there. He’s a tough guy.

“[Friday], he got more rebounds, and continued to attack the rim at will,” Whitney said. “He’s just continuing to get better every single day.”

After a slow start in the first quarter, the Eagles opened things up in the second frame. Aggressive defense helped create a bunch or turnovers, leading to easy baskets on the other end.

Friday night was one of the most impressive defensive performances of the season for Easthampton, allowing its fewest points by an opponent through the first 12 games of the year.

Coming into the contest, the Eagles knew the Millionaires emphasized shooting a lot of 3-pointers. Throughout the game, Easthampton made sure no open looks came easy, flying around and contesting shots along the outside.

“[We were] committed to not allowing [Lenox] to get open shots,” Whitney said. “They had more threes on the year, than twos come into [the game]. We did a great job of ensuring that they had to play us one-on-one, and we were there cleaning up the rebounds.”

Ryan Guyette used quick hands to continuously poke the ball free from the Millionaires’ ball handlers and create fast breaks. The senior tallied eight points of his own in the victory.

Chase Canon-Smith caught fire from long range in the third quarter, knocking down a trio of threes in the frame and four overall. The sophomore came away with 12 total points while also facilitating the team’s offense.

Late in the fourth quarter, with a 20-point lead, the Eagles subbed in a chunk of their bench, who hadn’t seen much playing time.

Jackson Doubleday led the second unit in scoring, knocking down two 3-pointers to finish the night with six points.

“It’s awesome, those guys come every single day to practice, no complaints,” Whitney said. “They’re the type of guys who contribute to our winning. They probably haven’t got as many minutes as they probably want to, but they’re the type of people who are a huge part of why we’ve won games. We just don’t get better without them.”

With the senior night win, Easthampton improves to 9-3 on the season, with just six games left to go, all on the road. The roadtrip kicks off on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. when the team travels to Southwick.

“The emotions were high because for the seniors, they all wanted to go get their own bucket, but at the end of the day, it was all about the win,” Brown said. “We have goals, and I feel like we all handled our emotions well for the game.”

Sci-Tech 72, Amherst 61 — The Hurricanes’ trio of Mitchell Carey, Gael Buford and Sam Woodruff accounted for all of their offense in the loss in Springfield.

Carey collected 22 points, Buford had 21 and Woodruff totaled 18 as Amherst lost its second straight.

Minnechaug 54, Northampton 50 — The Blue Devils squandered a 16-point advantage at halftime (40-24) in the loss to the Falcons.

Northampton managed just two points in the fourth quarter to drop to 5-6 overall.

Brayden Nichols-Staples scored 14 points to power the Blue Devils.

Greenfield 75, Hopkins 44 — Green Wave’s Grayson Thomas was too much for the Golden Hawks to handle in their home loss.

Greenfield’s sharp-shooter concluded with a game-high 39 points.

Chace Earle led Hopkins with 20, while Harry West bucketed 11 points for the Hawks.

Monson 66, Smith Academy 31 — Ten points from Harry LaFlamme and Tyler LaValley were a bright spot for the Falcons in a tough night on the court.

The Mustangs led, 38-16, at halftime.

McCann Tech 56, Smith Voc 52 — The Vikings dropped a close decision at home to the Hornets.

Smith Voc (5-6) have now lost two straight.

Girls basketball

Frontier 59, Southwick 40 — The Redhawks got back in the win column, thanks in large part to Addie Harrington’s 25-point performance.

The Redhawks’ top scorer also hauled in 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Harper Modestow contributed 13 points and six boards as well for the victors.

Westfield 43, Holyoke 27 — The Purple Knights only scored four points in the second half in their loss to the Bombers.

Holyoke dropped to 3-9 on the season.

Smith Voc 43, Hampden Charter 27 — Sofia Zina secured 18 points to pace the Vikings in the non-league win.

Zina scored 10 of her 18 total points in the second quarter, helping Smith Voc grab a 24-17 halftime lead.

South Hadley 61, PVCA 28 — The Tigers left no doubt in the victory in Springfield.

Kate Phillips (19 points), Taylor Bullough (14 points) and Olivia Athas (11 points) were South Hadley’s top point-getters.

Smith Academy 26, Pioneer 24 — The Falcons put an end to their losing skid in the two-point win against the Panthers.

Smith Academy had previously lost four straight.

Swimming

Easthampton 94, Chicopee 71 (girls) — The Eagles finished in first place in eight different events in their dominant victory on Friday night.

Karolina Robak had two individual first-place finishes, in both the 50 freestyle (26.98) and the 100 freestyle (58.15).

Amherst 90, Agawam 74 (boys)
Amherst 113, Agawam 54 (girls) — The Hurricanes won both matchups against the Brownies in convincing fashion.

For the girls, Finnley Chambers won the 200 individual medley (2:29.76), Teagen Demers took first in the 50 freestyle (26.77), Rowan Albertson claimed the top spot in the 500 freestyle (5:50.22) and Emory Albertson won the 100 backstroke (1:05.32) and the 100 butterfly (1:05.32).

Late Thursday Results

Girls basketball

Belchertown 42, Westfield 39 — Aubrey Klingensmith’s 17 points carried the Orioles to the win.

Belchertown trailed by five at the start of the third quarter (34-29), but proceeded to outscore the Bombers 13-5 in the final frame to take the victory.