Westfield’s John O’Brien (5) dribbles past Devonte McCall (11) Tuesday night at Amherst. (Photo by Chris Putz)
AMHERST – The Westfield High School boys’ basketball team spent the night looking upward for answers.
Amherst took advantage of its height differential, towering over visiting Westfield 75-50 Tuesday night.
Meikkel Murray and Devonte McCall helped spearhead an Amherst victory, combining for 45 points. Murray finished with 27, and McCall had 18.
John O’Brien, who has been a scoring machine all season long, also scored a team-high 27.
Westfield’s Luis Castro (32) goes up strong with Amherst. (Photo by Chris Putz)
Westfield will look to rebound Friday at West Springfield High School. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Saints survive
St. Mary 39, Smith Voke 37
Drew Collins (13 points), Andrew Illnicky (8), Alex Qiu (8), and Jake Butler (5) led St. Mary to victory.
“It was a nice win for the kids,” St. Mary coach Joe Molta said. “They played very hard for 32 minutes, which we have done all year. Finally they got rewarded for it tonight.”
St. Mary will look to forge a winning streak when it hosts Gateway Thursday at Westfield Middle School South at 7 p.m.
Said Molta: “Hopefully we can get after more.”
GIRLS’ HOOPS
White, Sylvia propel Rams
Southwick 48, Smith Academy 39
McKinley White scored a team-high 14 points to lead Southwick, and Katelyn Sylvia’s seven fourth-quarter points proved to key a victory for the Rams on the road.
Southwick also toppled Smith Academy in JV action, 44-29, behind seventh grader Autumn Waitt’s 15 points, and four from Kaitlyn Haseltine.
Red Raiders roll
Commerce 47, St. Mary 11
Commerce opened on a 12-0 run, and led 29-2 at the half en route to a convincing win at home. St. Mary outscored Commerce 9-6 in the third quarter before the Red Raiders closed out the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run.
Commerce’s Gerliz Hernandez Yepez led all scorers with 24 points. Jessica Crosby, Francesca DePergola, and Marissa Hannoush each led St. Mary with three. Saints’ Stephanie Allen had two.
Smith Voke surges
Smith Vocational 54, Westfield Technical Academy 9
Smith Voke raced out to a whopping 44-0 halftime lead on the road. Stephanie Start scored a team-high 27 points, and Sydney Cyr had 13.
Taya Allen led Westfield Tech with four points.
GIRLS’ SWIMMING
Johnstone fuels WHS success
Westfield 112, Belchertown 58
Kelsey Johnstone won two individual events – the 100 yard freestyle (57.54) and 100 yard backstroke (1:02.1) – and, along with teammates Kate McCabe, Samantha Dolan, and Sara Russell took first in the 200 medley relay (2:02.82), as well the 400.
Russell claimed victory in the 50 freestyle (27.40), and Rachel Charette medaled (gold) in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.78).
The Bombers’ 400 free relay (Charette/Russell/Hannah Ditto/Johnstone) finished with a winning time of 4:01.62.
BOYS’ SWIMMING
O’s top Bombers
Belchertown 87, Westfield 79
Sam Cloutier (200 free, 2:06.88), Nick Rosso (100 fly, 54.90), Cole Viamari (500 free, 5:30.31), Patrick Lurgio (100 breaststroke, 1:13.05), and the 200 free relay (Rosso/Lurgio/Viamari/Gabe Centeno) with a winning time of 1:40.67 all claimed first-place finishes for Westfield.
SKIING RESULTS
A tag-team effort from Westfield’s Grace O’Connor (24.21) and Rebecca Stephens (24.58) claimed the top two spots on the hill in the GS Tuesday night at Berkshire East in Charlemont … Westfield’s Neil Sheehan (4th, 31.9) and St. Mary’s Matt Masciadrelli (5th, 33.2) cracked the top five for the boys in the slalom race.
BOYS’ ICE HOCKEY
Falcons stun Bombers
Minnechaug 3, Westfield 2
Minnechaug rallied from a 2-0 deficit to upend visiting Westfield at the Olympia in West Springfield. Three different players scored to lead the Falcons.
Max Maggipinto and Ryan Porter each netted a goal (both in the first period) for Westfield. Bombers’ Liam Whitman assisted on both goals.
