GREENFIELD — As the adage goes, the third time is the charm.

After a pair of crushing losses in the River Valley Athletic League championship game the past two seasons (including one to Eagle Hill in 2024), the Four Rivers Charter School boys basketball team capped off its dominant 17-0 campaign by finally getting over the hump on Thursday night. The Otters raced out to a 25-9 halftime lead en route to a 55-25 victory over The Hartsbrook School to win the league title at Stoneleigh Burnham School.

Thursday was the perfect bookend to Four Rivers’ season. Everything the Otters had done well throughout the winter – defending, shooting 3s and making hustle plays – they excelled at against the Hawks.

It all came together in the biggest game of the year.

“We didn’t beat Eagle Hill today, but we have beat them twice this season, so that was huge to be able to beat them and get over the hump, get all the way to the championship and win,” Four Rivers head coach Ashley Schenk said. “We made it to the championship the previous two years and lost, so to finally win is an awesome feeling. These guys worked really hard and they deserve it.

“We had a great season,” Schenk added. “Our team just kind of evolved throughout the season and we started playing really well together. Our offense started to come around, and we started to run our plays pretty well and hit our 3s and move the ball around. It’s been a great season.”

Through the first four minutes of the opening quarter, Hartsbrook hung tight with Four Rivers as it trailed by only two at the midway point. But Otters junior captain Cooper Whitney took matters into his own hands, scoring seven straight points for his team to end the frame with Four Rivers ahead 11-2.

Whitney scored nine more in the second quarter as part of his 16-point first half on his way to a 22-point, five-rebound, five-assist performance that included several difficult shots through contact – giving the Otters an energy boost each time. Four Rivers’ other captain, senior Meir Dragon, also added 22 points and 10 rebounds and was a force on the defensive end with four blocks.

Those two set the tone – as captains are expected to do – for the Otters.

“Our two captains just really came in and played strong,” Schenk said. “Meir was being a beast on defense, and Cooper was getting into the paint and dishing it out or making his layups. He finished through fouls a couple of times, and I felt like those were big momentum shifts when he did that. Those two really came through.”

Hartsbrook kept within striking distance in the third quarter, as points from Rowen Novick, Das Khalsa, Oskar Codding and Cayden Perez had the Hawks down only a dozen at one point in the frame. However two of Eliot Sanborn’s (nine points) three 3s on the night helped extend the Four Rivers lead back up to 20 (37-17) heading into the final quarter.

The Otters connected on seven 3s Thursday night, something they have done with regularity this season.

“Our 3-point shooting was an emphasis this year, for sure,” Schenk said. “I’m definitely a fan of the more modern-style game, spacing the floor and having 3-point shooters. Unless it’s a really dumb shot, I never get on my players for shooting 3s.”

Each member of Hartsbrook’s starting five played nearly the entire game on Thursday, and they all wore big smiles and emptied their tanks until the final buzzer sounded. That hustle and heart is exactly why the Hawks made it to their first River Valley Athletic League championship in the program’s history.

Novick tossed in nine points to lead the Hawks, Khalsa scored seven points and Perez added five for Hartsbrook.

“This was fantastic,” Hawks head coach Nathan Schiel said. “It was really not on my radar that this was the first time that Hartsbrook has made it to the finals, so this was huge. We have a beautiful group of seniors, and this was their last run. We were riding a real nice energy. We had high expectations just in terms of the energy that we bring, which is always positive. Four Rivers is always an awesome energy, and they’re always super dialed in and tight. We were psyched to be here against a team like Four Rivers.”

The sportsmanship and good nature of the game was on full display throughout. Any time one member of a team made a good play, whether it was a thunderous Dragon block or a deep 3-pointer from Novick, players from the opposing team would high-five one another to acknowledge it.

The packed house on hand to watch enjoyed every second of it with loud cheers for both sides.

“In any sport or any endeavor, you get back what you put out,” Schiel said. “So if you’re putting out positive energy, that’s what you’re going to get back. That’s the way our team rolls, we experienced that with Four Rivers as well, and that’s what makes it a real pleasure regardless of what you’re doing. If there’s mutual respect and positive energy, everyone feeds off of it and it makes it a beautiful experience.”

MIAA boys basketball

Non-playoff games

McCann Tech 48, Hopkins 36 — Chace Earle tossed in 16 points and Logan Bye added eight as the Golden Hawks dropped a consolation contest on Thursday night.

MIAA girls basketball

Non-playoff games

East Longmeadow 41, Holyoke 32 — The Purple Knights scored only three points in the fourth quarter in a consolation loss to the Spartans on Thursday night.

Holyoke held a 22-18 advantage at halftime. Kiara Perez scored 21 points in a strong effort to lead the Purple Knights

Late Wednesday results

Boys basketball

Northampton 66, Sci-Tech 64 — The Blue Devils picked up their signature win of the season on the road in Springfield Wednesday night, as they stormed back from down 12 in the fourth quarter to beat Sci-Tech. Northampton out-scored the Cybercats 27-13 in the final frame.

Brayden Nichols-Staples scored a game-high 24 points including six 3s, Jackson Oravec scored 16 points and Luke McGrath added 15 in the win. Northampton trailed 35-21 at halftime.