Boys Hoop Top 10s/Power Poll

Rankings are through Thursday’s games. I did not vote this week in the Top 10 on Masslive. Email mmoran@gazettenet.com with comments.
Some thoughts: Division 1 is slowly shaking itself out. There have been some upsets but nothing so great that it breaks the poll. Division 2 is awfully hard to figure out. There is a lot of parity within the Bi-County and Hampshire leagues, and the D2 Berkshire schools are in a down year. Division 3 basically has two regional halves and we won’t get a clear view until the postseason.

Boys basketball
Power Poll (Last week)
1. Central (1)
2. Commerce (2)
3. Holyoke (4)
4. Cathedral (3)
5. West Springfield (6)
6. Putnam (unranked)
7. Chicopee (5)
8. Northampton (9)
9. St. Joseph’s (7)
10. Mahar (10)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Central (1)
2. Commerce (2)
3. Holyoke (4)
4. Cathedral (3)
5. West Springfield (6)
6. Putnam (10)
7. Chicopee (5)
8. Northampton (8)
9. Pittsfield (9)
10. Minnechaug (7)

Division 2
1. Mahar (1)
2. Easthampton (2)
3. Greenfield (3)
4. Belchertown (5)
5. Hampshire (6)
6. Palmer (4)
7. Sabis (7)
8. Drury (8)
9. South Hadley (9)
10. Monument (10)

Division 3
1. St. Joseph (1)
2. New Leadership (2)
3. Mount Greylock (3)
4. Lee (4)
5. Lenox (5)
6. Renaissance (6)
7. Granby (7)
8. Frontier Regional (8)
9. Smith Academy (9)
10. Turners (10)

GazetteLand Power Poll (Last week)
1. Northampton (1)
2. Amherst (2)
3. Granby (3)
4. Frontier Regional (4)
5. Smith Academy (5)
6. Easthampton (6)
7. Belchertown (7)
8. Hampshire (8)
9. South Hadley (9)
10. Holyoke Catholic (10)
11. Gateway Regional (11)
12. Smith Vocational (12)
13. Hopkins Academy (13)

GazetteLand Leading Scorers (through 1/26)
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 22.6
Casey White, Easthampton, 22.2
Allan Rivera, Smith Vocational, 21.3
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 20.6
Keith Cotnoir, Hampshire, 19.5
Jarrod Neumann, Northampton, 18.7
Zach Parsons, Belchertown, 18.6
Corey Baker, Granby, 16.9
Keith Natale, Smith Academy, 16.6
Sam Sharpe, Smith Vocational, 15.4
Norris Cuevas-Nova, Amherst, 15.1
Jordan Castillo, Smith Vocational, 13.6
Josh Whitaker, Amherst, 13.3
Chris Starcun, Easthampton, 12.9
Luis Agrait, South Hadley, 12.3
Shane Andrews, Hampshire, 12.3
Derek McMahon, Smith Academy, 11.8
Nate Perret, Frontier, 11.0
Austin Cook, Gateway, 10.8
Paul Decker, Frontier, 10.6
Chris Ladd, Belchertown, 10.5
Aaron Gaj, Granby, 10.0

Boys Hoop Top 10s/Power Poll

Rankings are through Thursday’s games. My power poll is what I submitted for the Top 10 on Masslive. Email mmoran@gazettenet.com with comments.

Boys basketball
Power Poll (Last week)
1. Central (1)
2. Commerce (3)
3. Cathedral (2)
4. Holyoke (4)
5. Chicopee (6)
6. West Springfield (7)
7. St. Joseph’s (9)
8. Minnechaug (5)
9. Northampton (unranked)
10. Mahar (unranked)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Central (1)
2. Commerce (3)
3. Cathedral (2)
4. Holyoke (4)
5. Chicopee (6)
6. West Springfield (7)
7. Minnechaug (5)
8. Northampton
9. Pittsfield (unranked)
10. Putnam (8)

Division 2
1. Mahar (4)
2. Easthampton (3)
3. Greenfield (2)
4. Palmer (5)
5. Belchertown (1)
6. Hampshire (7)
7. Sabis (6)
8. Drury (8)
9. South Hadley (unranked)
10. Monument (9)

Division 3
1. St. Joseph (2)
2. New Leadership (1)
3. Mount Greylock (3)
4. Lee (4)
5. Lenox (5)
6. Renaissance (6)
7. Granby (8)
8. Frontier Regional (9)
9. Smith Academy (7)
10. Turners (10)

GazetteLand Power Poll (Last week)
1. Northampton (3)
2. Amherst (2)
3. Granby (7)
4. Frontier Regional (4)
5. Smith Academy (5)
6. Easthampton (6)
7. Belchertown (1)
8. Hampshire (8)
9. South Hadley (9)
10. Holyoke Catholic (10)
11. Gateway Regional (11)
12. Smith Vocational (12)
13. Hopkins Academy (13)

GazetteLand Leading Scorers (through 1/19)
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 23.8
Casey White, Easthampton, 21.5
Keith Cotnoir, Hampshire, 21.5
Allan Rivera, Smith Vocational, 20.6
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 20.4
Jarrod Neumann, Northampton, 17.8
Zach Parsons, Belchertown, 17.4
Keith Natale, Smith Academy, 17.2
Corey Baker, Granby, 15.9
Norris Cuevas-Nova, Amherst, 15.6
Sam Sharpe, Smith Vocational, 15.4
Jordan Castillo, Smith Vocational, 13.3
Josh Whitaker, Amherst, 13.3
Shane Andrews, Hampshire, 12.4
Chris Starcun, Easthampton, 12.0
Derek McMahon, Smith Academy, 11.9
Austin Cook, Gateway, 10.8
Paul Decker, Frontier, 10.6
Nate Perret, Frontier, 10.5
Chris Ladd, Belchertown, 10.3
Justin Mieczkowski, Frontier, 10.0

Final Boys Hoop Top 10s/Power Rankings

I'll have my all-star teams up at some point. It will be a while as we are in the middle of producing our spring sports preview, which will hit the streets April 8.

Boys basketball
Final Power Poll (Previous ranking)
1. Northampton (1)
2. Westfield (2)
3. West Springfield (3)
4. Sabis (unranked)
5. Cathedral (unranked)
6. Lenox (10)
7. Central (5)
8. Taconic
9. Belchertown (4)
6. New Leadership (unranked)

Final Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Northampton (1)
2. Westfield (2)
3. West Springfield (3)
4. Cathedral (10)
5. Central (4)
6. Chicopee (5)
7. Amherst (8)
8. Putnam (9)
9. Agawam (7)
10. Longmeadow (6)

Division 2
1. Sabis (4)
2. Taconic (5)
3. Belchertown (1)
4. Mahar (3)
5. Hoosac (2)
6. South Hadley (9)
7. Hampshire (6)
8. Greenfield (8)
9. Easthampton (7)
10. Southwick (10)

Division 3
1. Lenox (1)
2. New Leadership (5)
3. St. Joseph (2)
4. Turners (3)
5. Granby (4)
6. Smith Academy (7)
7. Lee (8)
8. Renaissance (unranked)
9. Monson (6)
10. Holyoke Catholic (9)

GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Northampton (1)
2. Belchertown (2)
3. Amherst (3)
4. South Hadley (7)
5. Granby (4)
6. Hampshire (5)
7. Smith Academy (8)
8. Easthampton (6)
9. Holyoke Catholic (9)
10. Frontier Regional (10)
11. Gateway Regional (11)
12. Hopkins Academy (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)

GazetteLand Regular Season Leading Scorers (final)
Allen Rivera, Smith Vocational, 22.2
Dylan Reese, Holyoke Catholic, 20.7
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 18.6
Anthony Afflitto, Smith Academy, 17.9
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 17.3
Sam Sharpe, Smith Vocational, 17.0
Gabe Craig, Gateway, 16.9
Keith Cotnoir, Hampshire, 16.2
Casey White, Easthampton, 15.6
Jarrod Neumann, Northampton, 15.5
Pat Anthony, Hampshire, 14.6
Pat Gooden, Belchertown, 14.5
Dan Johnson, Belchertown, 14.4
Jake Laga, Northampton, 14.0
Clinton Sapowsky, Granby, 13.9
Nate Conner, Belchertown, 13.5
Corey Mortimer, Smith Academy, 11.9
John Volpe, Easthampton, 11.7
Grant Cooper, Northampton, 11.4
Kyle Bryant, Frontier, 11.0
Joe Crespo, South Hadley, 10.9
Sam Pouliot, South Hadley, 10.7
Jose Allen, Amherst, 10.5
Jeremy Tanguay, Gateway, 10.5
Brian Chieco, South Hadley, 10.4

Boys Hoop Top 10s/Power Rankings

Boys basketball
Through Wednesday’s games
Power Poll (Previous ranking)
1. Northampton (3)
2. Westfield (1)
3. West Springfield (2)
4. Belchertown (4)
5. Longmeadow (5)
6. Central (6)
7. Lenox (7)
8. Holyoke (unranked)
9. Putnam (8)
10. Hoosac (9)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Northampton (3)
2. Westfield (1)
3. West Springfield (2)
4. Longmeadow (4)
5. Central (5)
6. Holyoke (10)
7. Putnam (6)
8. Amherst (7)
9. Cathedral (8)
10. Chicopee (9)

Division 2
1. Belchertown (1)
2. Hoosac (2)
3. Mahar (3)
4. Sabis (4)
5. Hampshire (5)
6. Easthampton (6)
7. Taconic (7)
8. Wahconah (9)
9. Greenfield (10)
10. Drury (8)

Division 3
1. Lenox (1)
2. St. Joseph (2)
3. Granby (3)
4. New Leadership (4)
5. Lee (5)
6. Holyoke Catholic (6)
7. Smith Academy (7)
8. Monson (9)
9. Dean Tech (8)
10. Turners (unranked)

GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Northampton (1)
2. Belchertown (2)
3. Amherst (3)
4. Granby (4)
5. Hampshire (5)
6. Easthampton (6)
7. South Hadley (8)
8. Holyoke Catholic (7)
9. Smith Academy (9)
10. Frontier Regional (10)
11. Gateway Regional (11)
12. Hopkins Academy (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)

GazetteLand Leading Scorers
Dylan Reese, Holyoke Catholic, 21.8
Allen Rivera, Smith Vocational, 20.4
Gabe Craig, Gateway, 19.5
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 18.8
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 18.0
Anthony Afflitto, Smith Academy, 17.8
Keith Cotnoir, Hampshire, 15.9
Jarrod Neumann, Northampton, 15.4
Casey White, Easthampton, 15.2
Sam Sharpe, Smith Vocational, 15.0
Pat Anthony, Hampshire, 14.9
Clinton Sapowsky, Granby, 14.8
Dan Johnson, Belchertown, 14.7
Pat Gooden, Belchertown, 14.2
Jake Laga, Northampton, 13.9
Nate Conner, Belchertown, 13.0
Sam Pouliot, South Hadley, 13.0
Corey Mortimer, Smith Academy, 11.6
Joe Crespo, South Hadley, 11.5
Josh Whitaker, Amherst, 11.3
Jose Allen, Amherst, 11.3
TJ Devane, Northampton, 11.0
Grant Cooper, Northampton, 10.8
Kyle Bryant, Frontier, 10.6
Corey Baker, Granby, 10.5
Will Hird, Amherst, 10.2
Andy Gifford, Granby, 10.2

Boys Hoop Top 10s/Power Rankings

After the top three, Division 1 is pretty open right now. Let me know what you think at mmoran@gazettenet.com. 

Boys basketball
Through Wednesday’s games
Power Poll (Previous ranking)
1. Westfield (1)
2. West Springfield (2)
3. Belchertown (3)
4. Northampton (4)
5. Cathedral (unranked)
6. Longmeadow (unranked)
7. Lenox (unranked)
8. Hoosac (6)
9. Mahar (10)
10. St. Joseph (9)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Westfield (1)
2. West Springfield (2)
3. Northampton (3)
4. Cathedral (8)
5. Longmeadow (10)
6. Chicopee (4)
7. Central (7)
8. Putnam (unranked)
9. Amherst (5)
10. East Longmeadow (9)

Division 2
1. Belchertown (1)
2. Hoosac (2)
3. Mahar (4)
4. Sabis (5)
5. Hampshire (6)
6. Easthampton (7)
7. Taconic (3)
8. Drury (8)
9. Palmer (9)
10. Greenfield (10)

Division 3
1. Lenox (2)
2. St. Joseph (1)
3. Granby (3)
4. New Leadership (4)
5. Lee (5)
6. Holyoke Catholic (6)
7. Smith Academy (7)
8. Dean Tech (8)
9. Frontier (9)
10. Monson (10)

GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Belchertown (1)
2. Northampton (2)
3. Amherst (3)
4. Granby (4)
5. Hampshire (5)
6. Easthampton (6)
7. Holyoke Catholic (8)
8. South Hadley (7)
9. Smith Academy (9)
10. Frontier Regional (10)
11. Gateway Regional (11)
12. Hopkins Academy (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)

GazetteLand Leading Scorers
Dylan Reese, Holyoke Catholic, 22.8
Gabe Craig, Gateway, 20.0
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 18.4
Dan Johnson, Belchertown, 18.3
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 18.0
Casey White, Easthampton, 17.6
Anthony Afflitto, Smith Academy, 17.3
Allen Rivera, Smith Vocational, 17.3
Jarrod Neumann, Northampton, 16.5
Keith Cotnoir, Hampshire, 15.9
Clinton Sapowsky, Granby, 15.4
Sam Sharpe, Smith Vocational, 14.8
Nate Conner, Belchertown, 14.1
Pat Gooden, Belchertown, 14.0
Jake Laga, Northampton, 13.8
Pat Anthony, Hampshire, 13.4
Sam Pouliot, South Hadley, 12.3
Corey Mortimer, Smith Academy, 12.0
Grant Cooper, Northampton, 11.9
Joe Crespo, South Hadley, 11.9
Josh Whitaker, Amherst, 11.3
JJ Edinger, Gateway, 10.7
TJ Devane, Northampton, 10.1
Andy Gifford, Granby, 10.1
Jose Allen, Amherst, 10.0

Boys Hoop Top 10s/Power Rankings

Boys basketball
Through Wednesday’s games
Power Poll (Previous ranking)
1. Westfield (1)
2. West Springfield (2)
3. Belchertown (3)
4. Northampton (4)
5. Chicopee (5)
6. Hoosac (7)
7. Amherst (8)
8. Taconic (9)
9. St. Joseph (10)
10. Mahar (unranked)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Westfield (1)
2. West Springfield (2)
3. Northampton (3)
4. Chicopee (4)
5. Amherst (5)
6. Holyoke (6)
7. Central (7)
8. Cathedral (8)
9. East Longmeadow (9)
10. Longmeadow (10)

Division 2
1. Belchertown (1)
2. Hoosac (3)
3. Taconic (4)
4. Mahar (5)
5. Sabis (2)
6. Hampshire (6)
7. Easthampton (7)
8. Drury (8)
9. Palmer (9)
10. Greenfield (10)

Division 3
1. St. Joseph (1)
2. Lenox (2)
3. Granby (3)
4. New Leadership (4)
5. Lee (5)
6. Holyoke Catholic (6)
7. Smith Academy (8)
8. Dean Tech (7)
9. Frontier (9)
10. Monson (10)

GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Belchertown (1)
2. Northampton (2)
3. Amherst (3)
4. Granby (4)
5. Hampshire (5)
6. Easthampton (6)
7. South Hadley (7)
8. Holyoke Catholic (8)
9. Smith Academy (9)
10. Frontier Regional (10)
11. Gateway Regional (11)
12. Hopkins Academy (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)

GazetteLand Leading Scorers
Dylan Reese, Holyoke Catholic, 22.9
Gabe Craig, Gateway, 20.8
Dan Johnson, Belchertown, 18.8
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 18.8
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 18.0
Casey White, Easthampton, 17.1
Jarrod Neumann, Northampton, 17.0
Anthony Afflitto, Smith Academy, 17.0
Keith Cotnoir, Hampshire, 16.0
Nate Conner, Belchertown, 16.0
Jake Laga, Northampton, 15.2
Sam Sharpe, Smith Vocational, 15.0
Clinton Sapowsky, Granby, 14.6
Allen Rivera, Smith Vocational, 14.5
Pat Gooden, Belchertown, 13.8
Sam Pouliot, South Hadley, 13.8
Grant Cooper, Northampton, 13.0
Joe Crespo, South Hadley, 12.6
Pat Anthony, Hampshire, 12.2
Corey Mortimer, Smith Academy, 12.0
JJ Edinger, Gateway, 11.4
Josh Whitaker, Amherst, 11.3
Will Hird, Amherst, 11.0
Jose Allen, Amherst, 11.0
TJ Devane, Northampton, 10.8
Jon Labrie, Hamphshire, 10.1

Final Boys Hoop Top 10s

Team stats are found here.

Team standings are here.

Everything is final.

Power Poll (Record, Last week)
1. Northampton (16-4, 2)
2. Sabis (19-2, 3)
3. East Longmeadow (16-4, 1)
4. Hoosac Valley (17-3, 4)
5. New Leadership (17-3, 5)
6. West Springfield (15-5, 6)
7. Sci-Tech (12-8, 8)
8. Westfield (12-8, 7)
9. Central (12-8, 9)
10. Amherst (11-9, n/r)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. Northampton (16-4, 2)
2. East Longmeadow (16-4, 1)
3. West Springfield (15-5, 3)
4. Sci-Tech (12-8, 5)
5. Westfield (12-8, 4)
6. Central (12-8, 6)
7. Amherst (11-9, 10)
8. Holyoke (11-9, 7)
9. Putnam (11-9, 8)
10. Chicopee (10-10, n/r)

Division 2
1. Sabis (19-2, 1)
2. Hoosac Valley (17-3, 2)
3. Hampshire (17-3, 3)
4. Drury (15-5, 4)
5. Mahar (17-3, 5)
6. Taconic (14-6, 7)
7. Belchertown (15-5, 8)
8. Easthampton (17-5, 6)
9. Palmer (13-7, 9)
10. Wahconah (1010, 10)

Division 3
1. New Leadership (17-3, 1)
2. St. Joseph (14-6, 2)
3. Pioneer Valley (14-6, 5)
4. Lee (11-9, n/r)
5. Holyoke Catholic (12-8, 4)
6. Lenox (12-8, 3)
7. Frontier Regional (11-9, 7)
8. Monson (8-12, 8)
9. Dean Tech (17-3, 10)
10. Renaissance (12-8, n/r)

GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Northampton (16-4, 1)
2. Amherst (11-9, 3)
3. Hampshire (17-3, 2)
4. Belchertown (15-5, 5)
5. Easthampton (17-5, 4)
6. South Hadley (7-13, 6)
7. Holyoke Catholic (12-8, 7)
8. Frontier Regional (11-9, 9)
9. Smith Academy (9-11, 8)
10. Hopkins Academy (9-11, 10)
11. Gateway Regional (7-13, 11)
12. Granby (7-13, 12)
13. Smith Vocational (1-18, 13)

Leading GazetteLand scorers
Branden Labrie, Hampshire, 25.5
Nick Bryda, Holyoke Catholic, 24.0
Brendan Rios, Easthampton, 22.9
Pat Gooden, Belchertown, 19.9
Clinton Sapowsky, Granby, 18.8
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 18.5
Sean Cunningham, Amherst, 17.4
Andy Blair, Smith Vocational, 16.8
Zach Garbacik, South Hadley, 16.4
Jesse Coulon, Northampton, 16.3
Ellis Cooper, Northampton, 15.7
Matt Chamberlin, Frontier, 15.6
Joey O’Connell, Smith Academy, 14.8
Chris Sulda, Smith Academy, 14.3
Roberto Agrait, South Hadley, 13.9
Kieffer Staples, Smith Vocational, 13.4
Alex Brunelle, Hampshire, 13.2
Anthony Afflitto, Smith Academy, 13.0
Dan Sullivan, Hopkins Academy, 12.6
Charles White, Amherst, 12.6
Dan Johnson, Belchertown, 12.0
Nate Conner, Belchertown, 11.6
Andy Gifford, Granby, 11.1
Gabe Craig, Gateway, 11.0
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 10.6
Brian Chieco, South Hadley, 10.6
Erik Abramson, Frontier, 10.5
Ben Brassord, Amherst, 10.4

Boys Hoop Top 10s, Power Poll

Send comments to mmoran@gazettenet.com.
Also, I’m in the process of putting together some fun decade stuff which will be posted next week. I will have an All-Western Massachusetts Team for the decade. It will have a starting five as well as five bench players. I will also do it for Hampshire County. I will take suggestions on this one. Should anyone feel the need to send me complete teams, I will consider posting them along with mine.
I will have team stats next week.

Week 3
Power Poll (Record, Week 2)
1. East Longmeadow (5-0, 1)
2. Northampton (4-1, 2)
3. Hoosac Valley (4-0, 3)
4. Sabis (4-0, 4)
5. Westfield (4-1, 5)
6. Central (4-1, 6)
7. New Leadership (5-0, 7)
8. Sci-Tech (2-2, 8)
9. Drury (3-1, 9)
10. Mahar (3-2, 10)

Divisional Top 10s
Division 1
1. East Longmeadow (5-0, 1)
2. Northampton (4-1, 2)
3. Westfield (4-1, 3)
4. Central (4-1, 4)
5. Sci-Tech (2-2, 5)
6. West Springfield (2-2, 6)
7. Holyoke (1-4, 7)
8. Amherst (1-2, 9)
9. Chicopee Comp (2-2, 10)
10. Agawam (2-3, n/r)

Division 2
1. Hoosac Valley (4-0, 1)
2. Sabis (4-0, 2)
3. Drury (3-1, 3)
4. Mahar (3-2, 4)
5. Taconic (2-0, 5)
6. Easthampton (4-1, 6)
7. Hampshire (4-0, 7)
8. Belchertown (3-1, 9)
9. Wahconah (2-2, n/r)
10. Palmer (3-3, n/r)

Division 3
1. New Leadership (5-0, 1)
2. Holyoke Catholic (4-1, 2)
3. Lee (3-1, 3)
4. Hopkins Academy (3-2, 6)
5. Frontier Regional (2-2, 5)
6. Mohawk (1-4, 4)
7. Pioneer Valley (2-2, 7)
8. Granby (1-3, 8)
9. Smith Academy (1-3, 9)
10. Mt. Greylock (2-2, 10)

GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Northampton (4-1, 1)
2. Easthampton (4-1, 2)
3. Hampshire (4-0, 4)
4. Belchertown (3-1, 5)
5. Amherst Regional (1-2, 6)
6. Holyoke Catholic (4-1, 9)
7. Frontier Regional (2-2, 3)
8. South Hadley (2-2, 7)
9. Hopkins Academy (3-2, 8)
10. Granby (1-3, 10)
11. Smith Academy (1-3, 11)
12. Gateway Regional (2-3, 12)
13. Smith Vocational (0-2, 13)

Leading GazetteLand scorers
Branden Rios, Easthampton, 28.4
Nick Bryda, Holyoke Catholic, 24.8
Brendan Labrie, Hampshire, 24.0
Pat Gooden, Belchertown, 20.8
Sean Cunningham, Amherst, 20.3
Clinton Sapowsky, Granby, 19.3
Ellis Cooper, Northampton, 18.6
Nate Powers, Holyoke Catholic, 18.6
Jesse Coulon, Northampton, 17.8
Andy Blair, Smith Vocational, 16.0
Chris Sulda, Smith Academy, 16.0
Kieffer Staples, Smith Vocational, 16.0
Alex Brunelle, Hampshire, 15.8
Dan Johnson, Belchertown, 15.5
Matt Chamberlin, Frontier, 14.3
Roberto Agrait, South Hadley, 13.8
Ben Brassord, Amherst, 13.0
Charles White, Amherst, 12.7
Joey O’Connell, Smith Academy, 11.8
Corey Mortimer, Smith Academy, 11.3
Erik Abramson, Frontier, 11.0
J.J. Edinger, Gateway Regional, 10.8
Mat Sulda, Smith Academy, 10.8
Dan Sullivan, Hopkins Academy, 10.6
Nate Conner, Belchertown, 10.3

Boys Hoop First Round Preview, Power Poll

Before we get to the first round tournament matchups, I forgot to update the final regular season Power Poll. Here it is:

Power Poll (Last week)
1. Sabis (1)
2. Northampton (2)
3. Sci-Tech (4)
4. Central (5)
5. East Longmeadow (3)
6. Minnechaug (6)
7. Hoosac Valley (8)
8. Chicopee (7)
9. New Leadership (9)
10. Taconic (unranked)

All games today are at 7 p.m.

Division 1
No. 9 Westfield (10-10) at No. 8 West Springfield (11-9)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: Westfield: Alex Garstka, Aaron Rogers; West Side: Chris Walker, Joey Lisella
Winner gets: No. 1 Northampton (18-2)
Notes: West Springfield, the defending champ, went 3-2 against the Valley Wheel with wins over Putnam, Longmeadow and Chicopee Comp. The Terriers lost two straight to close the regular season. Lisella has his right hand tapped against Northampton at the end of the season and had trouble handling the ball and shooting. Westfield went 2-1 against the Suburban League with wins over Ludlow and Agawam. The Bombers went 5-2 down the stretch, including winning their final three, to qualify.
Pick: Westfield

Division 2
No. 9 Hampshire Regional (11-9) at No. 8 Mahar (11-9)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: Hampshire: Branden Labrie, Scott DeLoach; Mahar: Dane Jobst, Tyriq Rochester
Winner gets: No. 1 Hoosac Valley (17-3)
Notes: Both teams have been inconsistent. Both teams can score. Hampshire averages 64.1 points per game. Mahar averages 60.3. Both teams struggle to play defense. Hampshire allows 59.5. Mahar allows 58.6. Defending Jobst will be a key for Hampshire.
Pick: Hampshire
No. 10 South Hadley (9-11) at No. 7 Mohawk Trail (14-6)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: South Hadley: Miguel Santiago, Greg Daviau, Zach Garbacik; Mohawk: Tory Buck, Devin Reid, Ross Miner
Winner gets: No. 2 Taconic (15-5)
Notes: History favors the Tigers, who have won two straight D-2 titles and four of the last five. History though can’t defend Reid, who is averaging 19.6. Mohawk has a solid PG in Buck, an athletic and quick forward in Reid and a good shooter in Miner. South Hadley has quick guards in Santiago, Daviau and Roberto Agrait. The loss of center Brian Chieco will hurt on the boards.
Pick: South Hadley
No. 11 Monument Mountain (9-11) at No. 6 Wahconah (12-8)
Head to head: Wahconah won 56-41 and 55-37
Players to watch: Monument: Gabe Rossman, Barrett Ramsay; Wahconah: Craig Lennon, Nick Anastacio
Winner gets: No. 3 Drury (15-5)
Notes: The Spartans needed a big finish to qualify. They went 8-4 and finished in second place in the Berkshire South to qualify. Monument has been outscored by an average of nearly 10 points so they need to play well to beat Wahconah. The Warriors went 5-2 down the stretch, including an 11-point win over No. 1 Hoosac.
Pick: Wahconah

Division 3
No. 9 Granby (12-8) at No. 8 St. Joseph (11-9)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: Granby: Dana Light, Brian Boudreau; St. Joe’s: Tyler Reed, Dan Joslyn
Winner gets: No. 1 Sabis (19-1)
Notes: The Rams, who have won four straight, have a good shot at moving on but Light needs to have one of his typical all-around games. St. Joe’s has lost four straight and five of six.
Pick: Granby
No. 10 Lenox (8-12) at No. 7 Easthampton (13-7)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: Lenox: Kevin Carpenter, Chris Bravo, Jesse Armstrong; Easthampton: Brendan Rios, Pat Ramsey, Drew Sharp
Winner gets: No. 2 New Leadership (18-2)
Notes: Lenox has lost three of four and nine of its last 11. The Millionaires are 4-5 on the road with two of those wins coming against Tri-County teams. Easthampton has lost three straight, although one game didn’t officially count. The Eagles are 8-2 at home this season.
Pick: Easthampton
No. 11 Franklin Tech (14-6) at No. 6 Pioneer Regional (14-6)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: Franklin: Tom Glabach; Pioneer: Tyler Lennox, Matt Llewelyn
Winner gets: No. 3 Turners Falls (15-5)
Notes: Pioneer shouldn’t have a problem with the Tri-County visitors. Pioneer is 8-2 at home. They have more than enough players to slow down Glabach.
Pick:
No. 12 McCann Tech (12-8) at No. 5 Lee (14-6)
Head to head: Lee won 57-39 and 59-41
Players to watch: McCann: Ben Raimer; Lee: Jordon Wadsworth, Trey Morin
Winner gets: Dean Tech/Frontier winner
Notes: Lee’s two wins over McCann came during the team’s seven-game winning streak to start the season. The Wildcats should be able to take care of business with this favorable matchup.
Pick: Lee
No. 13 Dean Tech (11-9) at No. 4 Frontier Regional (14-6)
Head to head: Did not play
Players to watch: Dean Tech: Josue Figueroa; Frontier: Gary Grandonico, Matt Chamberlin, Erik Abramson
Winner gets: McCann Tech/Lee winner
Notes: Frontier has won 36 of its last 37 home games. The Red Hawks are the defending state champs. Earlier this decade they lost to Westfield Voke at home in the playoffs. Coach Marty Sanderson has reminded his teams of it ever since.
Pick: Frontier