NORTHFIELD — It’s safe to say the Pioneer boys basketball team was ready to go in its season opener against Mahar on Friday.
The Panthers came out flying on both ends of the court, knocking down shots and getting to the rim on offense while smothering the Senators on the defensive end.
Leading 22-9 after eight minutes, Pioneer exploded in the second quarter to take a commanding 41-15 lead into the half. Mahar was never able to cut in the deficit, as the Panthers walked away with an 82-35 victory.
“We knew we had a good team,” senior Jared Hubbard said. “With the lineups we have, we don’t have anyone to slow the ball down. We knew we wanted to push the ball all game. We expected to get a lot of shots up. We were very unselfish tonight. To hold them to 35 points, if you hold teams to 35 points you’re going to win a lot of games.”
It wasn’t one single player that broke the game open for Pioneer (1-0). All 10 players who took the floor scored, with freshman Brayden Thayer leading the way with 15 points.
Jayden Fox and Sean Allen both joined him in double figures with 11 points while Hubbard and Ethan Mauthe scored nine points. With so many players capable of putting the ball in the basket, it presents a multitude of problems for defenses.
“Offensively it was about sharing the ball,” Panther coach Scott Thayer said. “I have a multitude of guys where if we get the ball moving and get the defense rotating, you have to pick your poison at some point. You only put 82 up there because you have a lot of guys scoring.”
Allen and Jalen McGraw both scored four points early on for Pioneer before Thayer came in off the bench and sunk a pair from beyond the arc to put the Panthers ahead 14-5 early.
A pair of baskets from Senators Hunter Martin and Will Barnes before the quarter ended cut the Pioneer lead to 22-9 after one.
The 3-pointers continued for the Panthers in the second quarter. Josh Wood knocked one down from deep before Hubbard hit two in a row and suddenly Pioneer had built a 34-12 lead midway through the frame.
Mahar (2-1) was kept in check on the offensive end in the second quarter, scoring just five points as it fell behind 41-15 at the half.
“We’ve been practicing for three weeks and you get sick of going against each other,” Thayer said. “It’s hard to tell what you’re getting good at. We played hard man-to-man and kept guys in front. I’m pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect to play that well.”
The scoring barrage continued in the third quarter. Pioneer kept its torrid pace going, getting stops on the defensive end, turning and getting up the floor in transition for easy baskets. The Panther ball movement on offense created good looks, with seven different Panthers scoring in the third quarter alone to take a 64-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
Martin led Mahar with 16 points — scoring all nine Senator points in the fourth quarter — while Barnes and Connor Sluder each had four points in the loss.
While it was a great way to start the season for Pioneer, Thayer knows the season has just begun and his team still has a tough road ahead of them in the Hampshire South League.
“It’s only game one,” Thayer said. “It’s teenage boys. They can’t get too confident, especially in our league. Any given night you could be in a rock fight. We still have to go to Mahar and it could be a totally different ball game. I expect that with a Chad Softic team. They’ll get better.”
Frontier 55, Greenfield 44 — It was a big second quarter for the Redhawks that propelled them to victory on Friday at Goodnow Gymnasium.
Leading 9-7 after one, Frontier outscored the Green Wave 20-8 in the second quarter to take a 29-15 lead into the half en route to a 55-44 victory.
Dylan Martin stayed hot on the offensive end for the Redhawks (3-0) with 21 points. Iain Spearance finished with nine points while Tyler Dubreuil and Patrick Boyden each added eight points in the win.
Jon Breor led Greenfield (1-1) with 17 points. David Carey scored 12 points while Brendan Driscoll tallied six points in the loss.
Athol 54, Franklin Tech 39 — Leading 24-19 at the half, the Bears offense exploded for 19 third quarter points to take a 43-27 lead into the final eight minutes. Athol held on, defeating the Eagles 54-39 at Mallet Gymnasium on Friday.
Vinny Gordon paced the Bears (1-1) with 15 points. Conall Tontodonato scored 12 points and Aedan Erickson added eight points to the winning total.
Ty Sadoski put up 25 points for Franklin Tech, with Gabe Tomasi adding seven points in the loss.
■ In JV action Ben Kearney scored 14 points to lead Athol to a 51-22 win over Tech.
Hopkins 69, Turners 40 — A fast start for the Golden Hawk offense saw Hopkins take a 20-4 lead after eight minutes and a 36-14 lead into the half, ultimately defeating the Thunder 69-40 on Friday in Turners.
Levin Prondecki scored 17 points in the loss, with Logan Addison finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds. JJ Charles had six points and Brandon Pollard tallied five points in the loss.
Andrew Ciaglo led the Golden Hawks with 23 points.
Southwick 49, Turners 32 — Lily Spera scored 11 points for the Thunder in a 49-32 loss to the Rams on Friday in Southwick.
Southwick led 32-17 at the half.
Emily Young recorded nine points for Turners while Taylor Greene scored six points in the loss.
Desmond Wallace took first in the 100 free (1:08.15) and 100 backstroke (1:18.25) for the Turners boys swim team, but it was Holyoke who came away with a 28-19 victory on Friday in Holyoke.
Matt Sibley took second in the 100 breaststroke (1:47.24) for the Thunder.
On the girls side, Turners fell to the Purple Knights, 138-24. Leah Gump took third in the 200 IM (2:52.41) and Ella Guidaboni placed third in the 50 freestyle (37.00) in the loss.