Westfield's Joe Meade (35) drives to the hoop. Meade finished with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks on the road at East Longmeadow Thursday night. (File photo by Fred Gore)
HS HOOPS
Teams set for tourney push
Bombers get even
By CHRIS PUTZ
Staff Writer
WESTFIELD – It’s time for local high school sports fans to buckle up because the basketball season is about to hit the stretch drive.
With tournament action just around the corner, every shot, steal, block, and assist, becomes more important. Every game takes on a bigger significance with postseason berths on the line.
A key girls’ hoops game takes place this evening between neighboring Tri-County League rivals St. Mary’s (5-6) and Gateway Regional (7-0 league) in Huntington. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“We just have to be competitive,” St. Mary’s coach Dave Breglio said after a recent game. “We have to win these (final) games. We need to settle down and play hard.”
The Lady Gators will attempt to remain unbeaten in the Tri-County League, while the Lady Saints play for the upset.
The Westfield Voc-Tech girls’ basketball team (4-5) will attempt to get back to the .500 level tonight against Pioneer Valley Christian School – a .500 record or better, or a first- or second-place finish in league play guarantees a postseason berth. Game time is 5:30.
Southwick-Tolland, at 7-3, hosts Putnam tonight at 7. Westfield travels to Amherst to take on the Lady Hurricanes.
BOMBERS GET EVEN IN LEAGUE OPENER: The WHS boys’ hoops team improved to 5-5 with a 61-56 win over East Longmeadow in a Suburban League opener Thursday night.
Westfield overcame early foul trouble to guards Justin Crosby and Billy Smith, and Devin Wells, whose fourth foul benched him during a stretch in the fourth quarter. Kyle Murphy hit a huge 3-pointer with about three minutes remaining, Wells hit a game-tying turnaround jumper shortly thereafter, and Joe Meade and Crosby made key free throws late to seal the game.
Matt Krutka scored a career-high 14 points for Westfield; Meade finished with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks; and, Smith quarterbacked a solid effort from the point guard position. Crosby held Luis Rodriguez to just seven points after a recent 37-point outing.
Westfield will try to build upon that momentum Monday at Longmeadow.
“I think in our league – throw Central out the window – that there are X amount of Division (1) teams that you can flip a coin against (to determine who will win),” Westfield coach Bill Daley said. “It’s a question of ‘who’s going to get better.’”
“Every time we take two steps forward, we take one step back,” the longtime Bombers coach added. “We have to want to get to the tournament.”
Westfield has qualified for the Western Massachusetts Division I tournament eight of the last nine seasons under Daley.
Southwick (5-9), which suffered a 53-28 loss to Monson on Thursday, Gateway (3-7), Voc-Tech (4-5), and St. Mary’s (2-9) are all fighting to remain alive in the postseason chase. The Gators, Tigers, and Saints all host important games this evening. Check out the high school winter sports schedule for the complete matchups.
