Great Job PVRS boys basketball

 

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Monday, January 09, 2017

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Tucker Llewelyn scored 22 points and Pioneer Valley Regional School made a statement by knocking off previously unbeaten Turners Falls High School, 57-55, in a Hampshire League boys’ basketball game Monday night at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.
The game featured two of the top teams in the Hampshire League and it lived up to the billing. Neither team ever mounted much of a lead, and Pioneer coach Scott Thayer said that it felt like every time he looked up, the Indians (7-1) were leading.
But it was the Panthers (6-3) who held an edge in scoring in each of the first three quarters, as Pioneer led 17-16 after the first quarter, 26-24 at halftime, and 39-36 going into the fourth quarter.
Pioneer led by the two points at halftime but Turners Falls came out in the third quarter and went on a run to take a six-point lead before the Panthers fought back.
“We kind of made the plays when we had to,” Thayer said. “Turners was undefeated and obviously there is a reason why. Gary (Mullins) does a great job with them. They play extremely hard and they keep playing hard no matter what happens.

“I thought our kids fought through mental adversity tonight. It seemed like all the forces were playing against us a little bit, but we fought through it and made enough plays to come out on top.”
The Indians had a chance to tie or win the game late. Pioneer held the 57-55 lead with 17 seconds left and the Indians came out of a timeout and attempted to spread out the Panthers’ defense and get a drive to the hoop. The Pioneer defenders stayed home and contested the shot and Brendan Emond grabbed the rebound with 1 second left and was fouled. He missed both shots but Turners Falls could only heave a full-court shot that did not find the mark and the Panthers picked up their biggest win of the young season.
Pioneer led the turnover battle, but Turners Falls had a much better night from the free-throw line. The Indians finished with 23 turnovers to just 14 for the Panthers, but Turners Falls shot 15 of 19 from the charity stripe, while Pioneer shot just 12 of 25.
Aside from Llewelyn’s 22 points, the Panthers did not have another player score more than 5. Jordan Loughman, Hunter Cote, Mike Menard and Tyler Martin each finished with 5 points, while Jacob Hill, Jake Willis and Bryce Dobosz each tossed in 3.
“We hoped that our depth could be an asset this season and tonight I think it was,” Thayer said. “Guys came off of the bench and contributed.”
Tyler Lavin led Turners Falls with 13 points. Anthony Peterson finished with 10, eight of which came on free throws. Tionne Brown netted 9 points, Josh Obuchowski added 8, and Ricky Craver tossed in 6.