AMHERST — The bright lights of the Mullins Center didn’t scare off the Granby boys basketball team on Friday.
Taking on Turners Falls in the Pioneer Valley Tip Off, both the Rams and the Thunder struggled to shoot the ball in the first quarter, with Granby holding a 9-8 advantage at the end of the frame.
That’s when the Ram offense took off. Granby scored 31 points in the second quarter to take a 40-16 lead at the half.
The offensive explosion carried into the second half, with the Rams eventually beating the Thunder, 71-31.
“We tried to get here as early as possible to get shots up but until you play in a place like this; it’s so much different than a high school gym,” Granby coach Dylan Dubuc said. “The background, the lights, the atmosphere and the lines on the court throw kids off. I was trying to get them to the high school line but we were shooting some shots from Chicopee. Once we stepped in, our guys shot well.”
Six different Rams scored baskets in the second quarter, led by Nate Breault who scored 11 of his 14 points in the quarter and Brandon Wishart who scored eight of his 14 points in the frame.
“We have a few kids who can really shoot,” Dubuc said. “They missed out on a year. They were hungry, they wanted to get out and play. I’m happy we have a somewhat normal season. The guys were ready.”
After taking a 40-18 lead into the half, Granby extended it to 51-20 early in the third quarter. The Rams took a 62-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
Ryan Gaughan had nine points, Carter White scored seven points and Christian Cudworth and Colin Murdock each scored six points for Granby in the win.
Brandon Truesdale led Turners with 16 points. Logan Addison scored six points while Levin Prondecki and JJ Charles each had four points in the loss.
Mahar 47, Hampshire 36 — It was a fourth quarter to remember for the Senators.
Trailing 36-30 entering the frame, Mahar outscored the Raiders 17-0 in the final eight minutes to pull away with a 47-36 victory in the second game of the Pioneer Valley Tipoff on Friday at the Mullins Center.
“The closeouts defensively were so much smarter,” Senators coach Chad Softic said. “We settled in. We did a lot of chasing in the first half in the zone. They made two passes and it was wide open. We were playing very undisciplined defensively. I told them at halftime I don’t remember a Mahar team giving up 32 in the first half. We settled down, got some stops and went on that run. Good win but we learned a lot tonight and have a lot to learn still.”
It was Gavin Sullivan who got the Senators going in the fourth. The junior scored the opening seven points of the quarter to give Mahar a 37-36 lead.
From there, baskets from Cathal Davis, Will Barnes, Sullivan, Hunter Martin and Barnes again closed out the win for the Senators.
While the Mahar offense found its footing, the Senators 2-3 zone gave Hampshire fits. The Raiders were unable to get the ball inside and were shutout in the final quarter of action.
“Their zone bottled us up a little bit,” Hampshire coach Lee Mollison said. “Foul trouble hurt us the most. We had some really young guys get in and they weren’t as confident to attack that 2-3. It bothered our shooters more. Momentum went on their side.”
Both teams were finding their footing early on in the Mullins Center, with Hampshire taking a 14-12 lead at the end of one.
The Raiders caught fire from deep in the second quarter, with Kyle Dale, Dylan Rohan (2) and Liam Pond all connecting from downtown to give Hampshire a 32-20 lead at the half.
The second half is when the Mahar defense took over, allowing just four points in the third quarter.
Sullivan led the way with 16 points for the Senators with Barnes pouring in 12 points.
Dale finished with 10 points for the Raiders.
“We have a game under our belts,” Softic said. “It wasn’t given to us. We’re better off for it and it was a great atmosphere. We don’t take it for granted being here. It was nice they invited us and it was great for the kids.”
Hampshire 34, Mahar 23 — The final game on Friday at the Mullins Center featured the Raiders and the Senators, with Hampshire getting out to an early lead behind 11 first quarter points from Emma Czarniecki to pull out a 34-23 victory.
Despite the win, Raider coach Dan Labrie saw plenty of things to correct with his squad.
“We need to improve on a lot of things,” Labrie said. “We have to take care of the ball better, we’re working on rebounding and boxing out so hopefully that improves.”
Czarniecki knocked down three 3’s and two shots from the charity stripe to help propel Hampshire to a 15-6 lead after eight minutes.
Both teams struggled in the second quarter on the offensive end, with the Raiders taking a 23-11 lead into the half.
Mahar opened the second half with 3-pointers from Naveah Scribner and Kendrah Doane to cut the Hampshire lead to 23-17 but Czarniecki knocked down a three and Alyssa Colon-Garcia scored to close out the quarter and give the Raiders a 28-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Senators didn’t have a final run in them, scoring one basket and knocking down four free throws in the fourth quarter.
Czarniecki finished with a game-high 15 points in the win while Liz Colon-Garcia added 13 points in the win.
Saylor Kegans and Doane each scored six points for Mahar, Kegans pulling down 12 rebounds and Doane snatching 11 boards.
“This was a great experience,” Senators coach Steve Bonk said. “The girls played hard. We have to work on boxing out but I’m mostly happy with our execution today. As a team they’re growing and learning a new offense. They’re working hard. We’ll learn from this and move forward. Hampshire is a solid team.”
Girls final
Hopkins 40, Franklin Tech 32 — The Golden Hawks outscored the Eagles 11-2 in the third quarter to pull away with a 40-32 victory in the Eagle Holiday Classic championship game on Friday at Franklin Tech.
Chloe Jekanowski led the way with 14 point and 12 rebounds for Hopkins while Sadie Cyr added 11 points and three steals. Gabriella Dyjach scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the win.
Hannah Gilbert poured in 16 points for the Eagles. Kendra Campbell scored eight points while Kaitlin Trudeau scored two points and plucked seven steals in the loss.
Boys consolation
Franklin Tech 45, McCann Tech 35 — The Eagle defense came to play in the consolation game of the Eagle Holiday Classic on Friday, limiting the Hornets to just two points in the first quarter and 10 total in the first half to pull away with a 45-35 victory.
Ty Sadoski scored 16 points for Franklin Tech with Robert Belval joining him in double-figures with 10 points. Robbie Murphy added seven points in the win.
Westfield 3, Greenfield 2 — Back-to-back Bomber goals in the third period lifted Westfield to a 3-2 win over the Green Wave at Amelia Arena on Friday.
Kevin Baumann scored both of Greenfield’s goals.