SPRINGFIELD - East Longmeadow held a one-point lead on Central at halftime Tuesday and the Spartans needed a jolt.

So just before the start of the third quarter Tommy Verdell got down on one knee, smacked the floor and gave East Longmeadow a motivational speech in the huddle.

The Spartans responded, went on a 18-1 run and advanced to their first-ever Western Massachusetts Division 1 Tournament championship game with a 71-38 victory in the semifinals.

Second-seeded East Longmeadow (18-4) will play No. 4 Westfield (14-8) for the title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Curry Hicks Cage in Amherst.

"I didn't think we were playing with the same energy we normally do," Verdell said of his halftime speech. "I didn't want it to be our last game and it was time to see if I can light a fire. Whether they responded to me or it was time for us to come to life we did. Thank God. We needed it."

Verdell is a familiar face to Amherst fans. He was an assistant coach on Jim Matuszko's staff when the Amherst boys basketball team won the state title in 2003. He was on the staff the following year when Amherst lost in the semifinal round at the Cage to Longmeadow.

Verdell left Amherst in 2005 to take the head coaching position at Wilbraham & Monson Academy.

Verdell left after three years and returned with his wife to Columbus, Ohio, but he couldn't stay away.

Verdell knew East Longmeadow coach Tony Bergeron through summer basketball camps and the two got together.

"Tommy brings a lot of energy and he's great with individual skill stuff," Bergeron said. He's "been a great tribute to our success."

Verdell is also a volunteer assistant coach with the Springfield Armor of the NBA Developmental League.

CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY BREAKDOWN - This week's Gazette Sports Podcast has a special game-by-game breakdown of all six high school basketball championship games scheduled for Saturday at the Curry Hicks Cage. The podcast can be heard at www.gazettenet.com/podcasts/sports.

JOINING THE CLUB - Jesse Coulon of Northampton became the eighth member in the school's 1,000-point club when he reached the milestone during Tuesday's 65-61 semifinal loss to Westfield. Coulon (1,001 points) is the third boy. John Gleason (1,702 points) was the last in 1998. Daniel Czerapowicz (1,037) was the first in 1978.

The five girls are Nicole Champagne, Addie Stiles, Susie Gutowski, Joy McDowell and Alannah Driscoll-Sbar.

HOOPHALL ALL-STARS - Sixty western Massachusetts players were selected to play in the third annual Western Massachusetts Senior High School Basketball All-Star Games, which will be played on March 19 at Center Court at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield.

The boys Division 3 all-star team will play against Division 2 at 5:30 p.m.. The girls game of Division 1 players against those from Division 2 and 3, follows at 7 and the Division 1 boys cap the night at 8:30.

The Division 3 boys team includes Nick Bryda of Holyoke Catholic and Matt Chamberlin of Frontier Regional, while Brendan Rios of Easthampton, Branden Labrie of Hampshire Regional and Zach Garbacik of South Hadley will suit up for the Division 2 boys.

Ellis Cooper, Coulon and Sean Cunningham of Amherst Regional will play in the Division 1 game.

Alyssa Leonard and Jenna Klaes of Amherst Regional will play for the Division 1 girls team, while Ashlee Moussette of Hampshire Regional is on the Division 2 squad.

SHEA TAKES OVER #CANES - Derek Shea, the Western United club team coach and former Amherst Regional girls soccer coach, was recently named coach of the Hurricanes boys team.

Shea, who coached the Amherst girls from 2000 to 2005, takes over for Rich Eckart, who decided not to return after a six-year run that helped the program become one of the best in the region.

"Mr. Shea brings 35 years of playing experience, including participation in the USL professional league," Amherst athletic director Karen Keough-Huff said.

"He has the coaching experience, successful leadership, and knowledge of the sport that we are looking for."

Shea's Western United program has been extremely successful nationally and sent numerous players to Division I college programs, including recent Amherst Regional graduates Nicholas Rouzier (Villanova) and Evan Coleman (Brown).

Shea is a guidance counselor at Amherst Regional.

Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.