It was the Marcus Sanders and Brendan Driscoll show Wednesday in Turners Falls.
Sanders finished with 22 points while Driscoll scored 19 points and snatched 16 rebounds to lead Turners to a 55-39 victory over Mohawk Trail in boys basketball action.
“I thought we were much better defensively,” Thunder coach Jay Liimatainen said of his team’s improvements from game one to game two. “Just finding out what this group does best is going to be big for us because we’re so young and have a lot to learn. We need to find out what we do well and keep doing it.”
Turners opened up a 12-8 lead after eight minutes and grew the advantage to 27-19 at the half. The Thunder defense stepped up big in the third quarter, holding the Warriors to just three points to put the game away.
Mohawk Trail, which was playing its first game of the season, found its footing late, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Truesdale joined Sanders and Driscoll in double-figures with 10 points in the win.
Shawn Davenport and Austin Sumner each finished with 12 points for the Warriors, with Tyler Dubreuil scoring six points and Matt Pollen finishing with five points.
Mahar 55, Pioneer 52 — Senator Matt Lyesiuk stepped up when his squad needed him most.
With under 30 seconds to play and Pioneer and Mahar tied at 52, the Senators had possession and looked to milk as much clock as they could. They put the ball in the hands of Jake Tenney, who got into the lane and dished out to a wide open Lyesiuk, who buried a 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go.
The Panthers were unable to convert on the other end, leading to a 55-52 Senator victory.
“They moved the ball well and shot it well all game,” Pioneer coach Scott Thayer said. “They’re a well-coached team. We played hard, but our mental outlook of the game wasn’t where it needed to be.”
The Panthers shot just 34 percent from the field in the game, with Mahar making 47 percent of its shots on offense. Despite that, the game was tightly contested throughout, with neither team able to separate from the other.
“Defensively, we just weren’t fundamentally sound,” Thayer said. “There wasn’t too much communication.”
Tenney had a game-high 19 points for the Senators, 14 of which came in the first half. Connor Sluder had 12 points, Jake Carron had seven and Lyesiuk dropped in 11 points himself.
Ryan Potter led Pioneer on the offensive end with 14 points, with Troy Emond (13 points) and Jared Hubbard (10 points) joining him in double figures.
Mahar 45, Pioneer 33 — The Senators were unstoppable in the paint Wednesday in Orange.
Sienna Moore finished with six points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Saylor Kegans had nine points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks and Kendrah Doane had two points and snatched 12 rebounds as Mahar pushed past the Panthers, 45-33.
“Sienna Moore had the best game of her career for us today,” Mahar coach Larry Fisher said. “Her rebounding was great and the six points are solid for her position.”
Leading 9-7 after eight minutes, the Senators put their foot on the gas in the second quarter, outscoring Pioneer 17-7 to take control of the game with a 26-14 halftime lead. The Panthers cut the lead to single digits, 36-27, at the end of three, but Mahar never let it get much closer.
Delaney Parker led the Senators with 13 points, knocking down three 3s, with Micalyn Mailloux adding in 11 points.
Laura Kahler and Emily Tibbetts each had nine points for the Panthers in the loss, with Whitney Dunklee tallying seven points and Sofia Walker adding six points.
Turners 36, Mohawk Trail 28 — Mohawk Trail took to the court Wednesday for the first time of the season, but with eight girls on the roster and just four practices under its belt, it was going to be a challenge against Turners Falls.
Still, the Warriors fought hard and kept it tight throughout, before ultimately falling to Turners Falls, 36-28.
It was a balanced scoring effort from Turners, with Madi Liimatainen leading the way with eight points. Lily Spera, Morgan Dobias and Taylor Greene each chipped in six points while Emily Young and Steph Peterson each had four points in the win.
Mohawk Trail’s Grace Ward had 10 points and 10 blocks, with Mya Lesieur also scoring 10 points, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers.