Monday's high school basketball games: Smith Vocational boys make tourney
Three different players scored 20 or more points Monday as the Smith Vocational boys basketball team defeated McCann Tech 69-62 at home to clinch its first western Massachusetts Division 3 tournament berth since 2006.
Jordan Castillo scored a game-high 23 points in the win for the Vikings (9-2, 6-2 Tri-County), while Sam Sharpe had 21 and Allan Rivera added 20 more. Rivera (12 rebounds, seven assists) was three assists shy of a triple-double.
Smith Vocational outscored McCann 24-11 in the third quarter to build a 17-point advantage, then held on in the fourth.
"We had a big third, but McCann never gave up," second-year Vikings coach Akara Holder said. "They played a strong press which beat us a couple times, but we were able to work that out, then they pulled it back. Our guys stayed committed to passing the ball to the open guy, playing that selfless basketball that leads to wins."
The Vikings compiled 40 rebounds, 15 assists and nine steals as a team.
"We're feeling really good right now," Holder said. "Now that the playoff berth is secure, we can move on to another goal like winning our league. We're also 6-0 at home and would love to go unbeaten here."
Frontier Regional 49, Greenfield 37 - Paul Decker scored 12 points and Justin Mieczkowski added 10 as the Red Hawks (12-3, 11-3 Hampshire West) picked up the home victory.
Ryan Hoar pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds to go with six points, while Frontier had 15 assists as a team.
Pioneer Regional 60, Hopkins Academy 49 - Despite 20 points by Andrew Bemben and 10 by Andrew Omer, the Golden Hawks (0-15, 0-13 Hampshire West) fell on the road to remain winless.
Renaissance 74, Granby 69 - Corey Baker led all scorers with 18 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals, but the Rams (10-5) fell at home.
Jesse Molin had 17 in the loss, while Tyler Ellard added 10 for Granby, which was outscored 19-11 in a decisive third quarter.
Hampshire Regional 62, Ware 55 - Keith Cotnoir's double-double led the Raiders (6-7) to the victory at home.
The senior scored 30 points, pulled down 18 rebounds and also had five assists in the win.
Shane Andrews and Adam Laroche each had eight points, while Tyler Zdaniewicz had six points and five assists.
Holyoke Catholic 44, Southwick 42 - Nate Powers scored 16 points for the Gaels (4-9) on the road against the Rams.
Powers also added 13 boards, and John McCoy had 10 points and 7 assists for Holyoke Catholic.
New Leadership 69, South Hadley 67 - Luis Agrait had 25 points and Jon Crespo added 13 but the Tigers (5-7, 1-1 Central) fell in Springfield.
Joe Crapps had 29 points with six 3-pointers for the Wildcats (7-7, 4-0).
Belchertown 58, Monson 46 - Zach Parsons scored a game-high 20 points with 17 rebounds as the Orioles (12-3) won on the road.
Chris Ladd and Tyler Verville each had 12 points apiece for Belchertown, which outscored Monson 20-9 in the fourth quarter.
Palmer 57, Gateway Regional 42 - Calvin Dowers scored a game-high 17 points, but the Gators (3-10) suffered the road loss.
Austin Cook added 11 points for Gateway.
Girls basketball
South Hadley 61, Monson 57 - Megan Lynes had eight of the Tigers' 19 fourth quarter points as South Hadley erased a three-point deficit heading into the fourth to earn the win at home.
Lynes finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers (6-6, 2-2 Bi-County West), while Kara Callahan added 14 and Kelly Pouliot scored 10.








