HATFIELD – Boys and girls basketball seniors came together at Smith Academy Friday night for the annual Hampshire-Franklin County All-Star game, and they weren’t afraid to show off and let loose in the final high school basketball game of their careers.

The East beat the West 99-96 in the boys All-Star game and the West beat the East 70-40 in the girls All-Star game.

In the boys game, Ware’s Josh Mulligan and Northampton’s Silas Coles were named MVPs. In the girls game, Greenfield’s Amber Bergeron and Belchertown’s Laura Cote were named MVPs.

Bergeron suffered a major knee injury late in the season, but still made it to 1,000 points, becoming the eighth player in school history to reach the milestone. Though she was unable to play on Friday night, the West team subbed her in for all of their free throws.

“I’m so happy and grateful to my team for them to do that for me,” Bergeron said. “It’s very emotional too, knowing that was my last time ever playing a high school sport.”

High-flying seniors steal the show

The boys All-Star game started out with a bang, as the West went up 18-7 thanks to three dunks from Silas Coles. He hammered home a pair of one-handers in the lane and even hit a reverse dunk on the fastbreak.

“With a lot of people, you get to show off a little more,” Coles said. “It makes it fun, the environment is fun. Everyone’s trying, no one’s trying too hard, it’s a lot of fun playing when it’s all for fun.”

Both teams brought in new lineups after the first timeout and the East stormed back, thanks to 13 first-half points and three 3-pointers from Ware’s Jack McKeever.

After the West’s high-flying start, the East’s guards started taking over. Athol’s Angel Castillo pulled off several impressive dribble moves and a couple reverse scoop layups. He finished with nine points.

Amherst’s Marcielo Aquino and Granby’s Colin Murdock each hit a pair of triples and each finished with 10.

On one play, Aquino, McKeever and Mahar’s Carmichael Thompson all threw behind-the-back passes around the arc, and Mulligan nailed a 3-pointer from the wing at the end of it.

But Greenfield’s Ollie Postera was not to be outdone. Every chance he got, the senior tried crossing up his defender and was successful several times. He scored 13 points.

“It’s the end of the season and everyone’s playing their best ball,” Mulligan said. “Whether their season ended a week ago, three weeks ago.”

Elsewhere on the East team, Amherst’s Ryder Rietkirk scored seven and South Hadley’s Brady Currier hit for nine, while Hopkins Academy’s James Fitzgibbons and Amherst’s Brandon Stewart scored 11 each, mostly inside.

For the West, Frontier’s Sasha Dragicevich hit four times from beyond the arc for 12 points and Pioneer’s Josh Wood also scored 12. Northampton’s JJ Moore scored nine, including a second-half dunk.

Seniors on both East and West relished the chance to play with new teammates and face unfamiliar foes.

“There’s a lot of players that I see in headlines that I never really play against because they’re not in our league,” Coles said. “This was a lot of fun.”

“It was fun to be playing with the guys I’ve been competing with all my high school career,” Mulligan added.

Though everyone was showing off the moves they might not have been able to pull off during a regular season game, the star of the show was Mulligan. He scored a game-best 16 points, including four 3-pointers in the final minutes. With the score tied at 93 with a minute to play, he drained back-to-back triples to give the East the win.

“I didn’t know I could do that,” Mulligan said after the game.

The gaudy scoreline was indicative of the fast-paced nature of an All-Star game, but the final minutes were tight and intense.

“It wasn’t a crazy amount of defense, but it was competitive enough to where it was fun still,” Mulligan said. “It wasn’t like the NBA All-Star, which I sometimes hate because there’s no defense, it’s not fun. This was competitive enough to enjoy one last basketball game.”

West cruises past East in girls All-Star game

While the boys All-Star game was decided by three points, the girls All-Star game was never in doubt, as the West cruised to a 30-point win.

Northampton’s Sarah Molnar, Chloe Derby and Ava Azzaro all came wearing oversize shorts that went below their knees. They were from an old uniform set won by Blue Devils Western Mass. winning teams of a decade ago. Anna Walther, Northampton alum and assistant coach at Roger Williams, was one of the players whose old shorts they wore. Ironically, Azzaro will be joining Walther next year in Bristol, R.I.

The shorts were a little too hot though, which meant Azzaro traded at halftime with Pioneer’s Hailey Ring, who wore them the rest of the half. 

“I swear they’re made of wool,” Azzaro joked. “And from the 1980s.”

Shorts length notwithstanding, players on both sides played loose in their final high school game. Some had younger teammates cheering them on from the stands. Both times Bergeron stepped to the foul line, she got an ovation from the crowd.

At halftime, Franklin Tech’s girls basketball team received the Jack Leaman Sportsmanship Award from the local IAABO board of officials.

For the East, Cote and Mahar’s Alivia Patch shared the team lead with eight points and Franklin Tech’s Kyra Goodell scored seven. Granby’s Sophia Gagnon and Ware’s Emily McGrail each had four while Amherst’s Shannon Klaes totaled three. Amherst’s Zola Hingham, Franklin Tech’s Lea Chapman and Hopkins Academy’s Cassidi Mushenski and Cassidy Fyden each scored two.

Derby nailed four triples for a game-best 12 points to lead the West. Ring, Kayley Downie and Sophia Faginski of Easthampton each scored eight. Smith Voc’s Jayanna Daniels scored seven while Smith Academy’s Caitlin Graves, Smith Voc’s Molly Smith-Eilenberg and Azzaro followed behind with four apiece. Mohawk Trail’s Rachel Pease, Frontier’s Hailey Hutkoski, Molnar, and Bergeron each scored three and Gateway’s Kaitlyn Maynard had two.