Sports
UMass football: Minutemen sign five athletes from high school ranks on opening day of spring signing period
Coach Joe Harasymiak and the UMass football team have been busy on the recruiting trail.
Basketball notebook: Ranking the best atmospheres in high school hoops this winter
By GARRETT COTE
Another week of the high school basketball season is nearly over, which leaves just one more until the Western Massachusetts tournaments begin. This is edition No. 5 of the Gazette’s weekly high school basketball notebook – the penultimate prior to postseason play. The MIAA released its latest power rankings for boys and girls basketball on Tuesday morning, so we’ll take another look at those as Hampshire County teams continue to jockey for a playoff spot or better seeding.
UMass basketball: Minutemen fall apart down the stretch, hand Saint Louis key A-10 victory
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — It’s become almost normal at this point. In recent memory, any time the UMass men’s basketball team starts to play well and garners attention from the fan base, it seemingly finds a way to let them down. Such was the case on Tuesday night in front of a season-high 3,745 fans at Mullins Center as the Minutemen fell 73-71 to Saint Louis with third place in the Atlantic 10 on the line.
High schools: Athol boys score key HL North victory over Hampshire Regional (PHOTOS)
It was a big Hampshire League North showdown at Mallet Gymnasium in Athol on Tuesday between the host Bears and Hampshire Regional.
Girls basketball: Skyler Steele, Harper Modestow help Frontier get past Belchertown (PHOTOS)
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier girls basketball team hasn’t had many tests this season.
High schools: Noah Hambley, Jack Loughrey help South Hadley boys get past Amherst
By RYAN AMES
AMHERST — The South Hadley boys basketball team hung on to clip Amherst, 60-49, Monday night.
Indoor track: Holyoke’s Yasani Thompson wins 2 events to pace pack at PVIAC Meet No. 7
By GARRETT COTE
NORTHAMPTON — The seventh meet of the PVIAC indoor track season took place at Smith College on Sunday, and five Hampshire County schools were in action across the two meets.
Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: The End of the Ice Age?
It’s Saturday morning and you’ve just come down on the side of your ankle while playing in the neighborhood basketball game. The pain is immediate as you limp to the sideline. “Get some ice,” someone yells. You lie down, put your leg up on a chair and wait for the ice. Upon arrival you wrap the ice tightly around the ankle. You have just satisfied the age-old rule of RICE, the recommended treatment for acute injuries for 46 years. RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation, all factors designed to reduce blood flow as well as inflammation. RICE was first proposed by Harvard physician Gabe Mirkin in his 1978 text “The Sports Medicine Book.”
UMass hockey: Minutemen’s 4-game winning streak halted in 3-2 loss at Maine
A rare Sunday matinee for the UMass hockey team saw the Minutemen right in the thick of things with the clock winding down in the third period in Orono, Maine.
UMass basketball: Minutewomen use big third quarter to run away from La Salle for 3rd straight win
A dominant third quarter effort turned the tide for the UMass women’s basketball team on Sunday.
UMass basketball: Rahsool Diggins’ 32 points help Minutemen earn 62-53 road win at Duquesne
The UMass men’s basketball team rode the scoring of Rahsool Diggins to capture a gritty 62-53 win over Duquense on the road at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
UMass hockey: Kenny Connors scores twice to lift Minutemen past Merrimack, 4-2 (PHOTOS)
By RYAN AMES
AMHERST – Two goals from junior Kenny Connors helped the No. 20 UMass hockey team take down Merrimack, 4-2, Friday night at the Mullins Center.
High Schools: Hopkins boys basketball falls to Greenfield, 63-44 (PHOTOS)
The Hopkins boys basketball team put up a valiant effort against a strong Greenfield team on the road on Friday night, but the Golden Hawks eventually fell, 63-44, to fall to 2-13 on the season.
Colleges notebook: UMass women’s basketball showing drastic improvement in head coach Mike Leflar’s second season
By GARRETT COTE
While there are still a handful of fans who haven’t fully bought into the current landscape of college athletics, there’s no question the world of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals and the transfer portal certainly has its benefits.
High schools: Smith Academy girls basketball holds Gateway scoreless in fourth quarter, wins 41-15
Offense was clicking for the Smith Academy girls basketball team in the first half on Thursday night, and the Falcons’ defense took over from there. The hosts scored 30 points in the first half to take 30-11 advantage at the break, then surrendered only four points over the final two quarters en route to a dominant 41-15 triumph over Gateway Regional at Sherry Webb Gymnasium in Hatfield.
UMass hockey: Minutemen prepare for important games vs. Merrimack, Maine
By RYAN AMES
The heat is on the No. 20 UMass hockey team.
High School Notebook: South Hadley wrestling team comes into its own
By RYAN AMES
In just its third season as a standalone program, the South Hadley wrestling team is on the come up.
“It’s so well-deserved”: Northampton’s Vin Lobello inducted into National Lacrosse Hall of Fame for work as chief referee
By GARRETT COTE
Back when Dick Garber was the head coach of the UMass men’s lacrosse team (spanning 36 years from the late 1950s to 1990), the Minutemen were slated to play Harvard out in Cambridge. One of the referees scheduled to officiate that game was Northampton resident Vin LoBello, who had a great relationship with Garber over the course of their respective careers.
High Schools: South Hadley wrestling falls to Franklin Tech, 36-34 (PHOTOS)
SOUTH HADLEY – The South Hadley wrestling team fell short to Franklin County Tech, 36-34, in an entertaining match on Wednesday.
UMass men’s basketball: Late second half run comes up short as Minutemen fall to URI, 88-82
The UMass men’s basketball team’s three-game win streak came to a close in Kingston on Wednesday.
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