ATHOL – The 4th annual Red Raider Holiday Basketball tournament ended with the Athol boys basketball team losing in the finals to a talented Leominister team, 82-44.
Nathan Heath scored a career-high 17 points including nine in the thid quarter for the Red Raiders.
Heath and Bryce King won the MVP awards for Athol.
King did a nice job breaking down Leominster’s defense to find teammates and also scored 14 points.
Maysin Tarbell hustled his way to six points for Athol.
The Blue Devils’ defense was very active throughout, limiting chances for Athol’s offense.
The very first play of the game was a turnover against an aggressive press for the Red Raiders which was indicative of how the night went overall.
The Blue Devils speed, size and athleticism presented problems for Athol the entire game.
Leominster shared the ball effectively as well, leading to easy baskets near the rim and open shots from outside.
The smooth-shooting Trevon LeBlanc scored 14 points including three 3-pointers for Leominster.
The combination of centers Janier Cora Huertas (17 points) and Givensky Pierre-Louis (10 points) bullied the undersized Red Raiders down low with both players in double-figures.
LeBlanc, Cora Huertas and Pierre-Louis were Leominster’s MVPs.
Mark Ferrari suited up for the Red Raiders but did not play.
Ferrari is still recovering from an illness that kept him out of school until Thursday.
Monty Tech won in the consolation game over St. Mary’s, 61-27.
Mahar 49, Hampshire Regional 36 – Charlie Barnes went on the road and filled the stat sheet in a win for the Senators (2-1).
Barnes had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and seven steals against the Raiders.
Center Ely Gonzalez scored eight points with six rebounds .
Jakob Carron grabbed 13 rebounds with four points for Mahar, who play on the road against Easthampton on Monday.
Athol 56, Turners Falls 55 OT – The Red Raiders (2-0) went on the road and came back with an overtime win over the Thunder.
Kendall DeLeo was fouled with 0.8 seconds to play in overtime and hit the first free throw to break a 55-55 tie. Moments before that, Aly Murphy went 2-for-2 from the lne to tie the score.
Haley Bigwood burned Turners Falls with 26 points, while Geca Baptista scored 16.
The Red Raiders scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
Athol plays at Greenfield on Tuesday.
Leominster 49, Mahar 40 – The Senators (1-2) led after the third quarter but it slipped away in the final frame in a road loss to the Blue Devils.
Micalyn Mailloux hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points for Mahar.
Jazmyn Vautour was also in double-figures with 10 points and hit two 3-pointers.
Abby Bonk added seven points for the Senators.
Mahar plays at Frontier on Tuesday.
