SPRINGFIELD — There’s a good chance Monday’s matchup between Pioneer and Duggan won’t be the last time the two boys basketball teams meet this winter. 

The Panthers entered Monday’s contest with an unblemished 16-0 record, holding the top seed in the Western Mass. Class D tournament rankings as well as the top spot in the MIAA Div. 5 power rankings. The Jayhawks on the other hand came into the game unbeaten at 15-0, holding the second seed in the Class D tournament and are ranked sixth in the Div. 5 power rankings. 

It was Duggan that knocked off the Panthers in the Class D semifinals a season ago but Pioneer got its revenge Monday, pulling away in the second half to earn a 69-44 independent victory. 

While it turned into a blowout, it looked like a different result was on its way four minutes into the game. 

Duggan came out of the gates flying to take an 11-1 lead with 4:05 to go in the first before Panthers coach Scott Thayer called a timeout. 

“The message was we have to play defense,” Pioneer senior Alex McClelland said. 

McClelland scored back-to-back baskets to quiet the crowd before Kurt Redeker threw down a dunk in transition, shifting the momentum back to Pioneer. 

“That kind of got the flow going,” Redeker said. 

McClelland knocked down a 3 to close out the first that cut the deficit to 13-12 after eight minutes. 

The second quarter was all Panthers. Brayden Thayer knocked down four of his five 3-pointers in the frame while McClelland and Redeker added baskets around the rim. 

McClelland drained a 3-pointer late in the second that gave the Panthers a 31-23 lead at the intermission, capping off a quarter in which they outscored the Jayhawks, 19-10. 

“They got a couple easy ones and we made some mistakes we don't usually make,” Brayden Thayer said. “We don't usually play in environments like these so it was a bit of an adjustment at the start. The message was to stick with what we know and stay the course.” 

Duggan was able to cut the lead down to 36-31 midway through the third after a basket from Kyle Combs but the Panthers put the game away to close out the quarter. 

Pioneer proceeded to go on a 14-0 run to go into the fourth leading 52-35. Jackson Glazier got it started with a 3-pointer, Redeker got to the rim for two, Glazier scored back-to-back baskets inside, Redeker got to the line then threw down his second dunk of the game and Thayer hit a midrange jumper to help Pioneer take command of the game. 

“We got into their pace at the beginning,” Redeker said. “Then we took over. We got some easy steals and easy looks that got us going.” 

The Panthers defense did its job locking down Duggan in the fourth to make sure a comeback wouldn't commence. 

Thayer led the way with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the victory. McClelland scored 17 points to go along with 15 rebounds, Redeker tallied 14 points and seven assists, Glazier scored 11 points to go along with seven boards while Will Glazier swished a 3 in the win. 

Jaylen Edwards led the Jayhawks with 14 points while Allen Miranda, a junior 1,000 point scorer, was held to 12 points thanks to the strong defense of Redeker. 

Pioneer looks to close out its season unbeaten when it hosts Frontier on Tuesday, and the Panthers are feeling confident heading into the postseason. 

“We're feeling great,” Brayden Thayer said. “If you said we were 17-0 right now we'd take that all day. We just have to take it one game at a time. We all love each other and we're all pulling for each other. We're excited.

“At the end of the day it's just another game on the schedule,” Thayer added. “I bet we see [Duggan] again.”

Mahar 57, Chicopee 44 – Trailing by six points at halftime, the Senators sprung to life in the third quarter.

Mahar outscored the Pacers by a 20-6 margin in the period, turning a 24-18 deficit into a 38-30 lead. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, as the Senators pulled away for a much-needed independent win on Monday in Orange.

Derek Collins scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Jayden Delgado tossed in 14 points, Marshall Ames tallied 13 points and 12 boards while Morgan Softic had nine points, five rebounds and six assists in the winning effort. 

Mahar (11-6) now turns its attention to Wednesday’s rivalry game with Athol.

Girls basketball

Lenox 44, Frontier 42 – With the Franklin County League North title on the line Monday night, there was no question the game was going to come right down to the wire in Lenox.

A late Frontier rally pulled the Redhawks even on a Skyler Steele putback with 27 seconds remaining, but Lenox didn’t go away. With the clock winding down in the waning seconds, Jocelyn Fairfield corraled a missed 3-pointer and put back the rebound off the glass just before the final buzzer to lift the Millionaires to a wild 44-42 victory.

Lenox (17-0, 11-0) stayed unbeaten and secured the outright FCL North title with the win. Frontier dropped to 15-2 overall, 9-2 in the league – both losses this season coming at the hands of the Millionaires.

Frontier trailed 12-2 after one quarter and 24-14 at halftime, but the Hawks chipped away and got back within four points entering the fourth quarter (34-30).

Claire Kirkendall’s layup with 4:52 to play gave Frontier a 35-34 lead, though Lenox regained its footing and took a 42-37 lead with 1:17 to play after back-to-back hoops.

The Hawks didn’t blink. Whitney Campbell drilled a 3 with 1:02 left to pull within 42-40, and after a defensive stop on the other end, Steele hauled in an offensive rebound off an Addie Harrington missed 3 and put it home to tie the game with 27 seconds left.

On the other end, Steele came up with a huge block on a Lenox 3 to keep it tied with 12 seconds left. But the Millionaires capitalized when a missed corner 3 kicked right to Fairfield down low, and she put it home at the buzzer to clinch the league crown.

Both teams still have one league game remaining against Easthampton (10-6, 7-2). Frontier will play the Eagles on Tuesday night in South Deerfield to close out the regular season.

Franklin Tech 43, Ware 32 – It was a Senior Night to remember for the Eagles, which halted a two-game skid with a victory over league-leading Ware in Turners Falls.

Franklin Tech, which closed out its regular season with an 8-10 record, honored seniors Hannah Gilbert, Cordelia Guerin, Laken Woodard, Haleigh Benoit and Lilianna Inman prior to the victory.

Gilbert led the offense with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds, and Inman followed with 13 points on the night. Woodard added seven points and Benoit scored four for the Eagles.

Mohawk Trail 32, Pioneer 30 — The Warriors outscored the Panthers 13-4 in the fourth quarter to pull out a comeback victory in Buckland on Monday. 

The win is the fourth in a row for Mohawk Trail. 

Bella Pettengill finished with 18 points, Natalie Lanoue scored six points, Monique Hadley recorded four points while Emmalee Inman added two points in the win for the Warriors. 

Maggie Tsipenyuk scored 12 points to go along with six rebounds, Natalie Rios tallied eight points and six rebounds, Kyler McClelland had five points and five rebounds while Charley Harrington hit a 3-pointer in the loss. 

St. Mary’s 61, Athol 21 – The Bears fell into a 20-3 hole after one quarter on the road in Westfield and couldn’t climb out in an independent loss on Monday.

Hockey

Hudson 2, Greenfield 1 (OT) — Brady Poreda opened the scoring in the second period for the Wave, but the Hawks tied it up in the third and notched the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat Greenfield in Marlborough on Monday. 

Jake Knight had the assist on Poreda's tally while Cooper Smith stopped 34 shots in the loss.

Greenfield dropped to 11-6-1 overall, while Hudson, the No. 9 team in the most recent MIAA Div. 4 Power Rankings, improved to 14-1-2. The Green Wave were No. 17 in the most recent release.

The Wave close out their regular season Thursday night at East Longmeadow.

Weekend events

Wrestling

Agawam 57, Mahar 12 — Joshua Mazza earned a 14-8 victory at 144 while Eujeyn  Smith picked up a 3-2 victory at 165 for the Senators, who fell to the Brownies over the weekend. 

Frontier 40, Smith Vocational 29 — The Redhawks earned their sixth dual meet win of the season, as Jocelyn Antes (120) won via major decision while Konnor James (157) and Massimo DiBari secured pins as Frontier took down the Vikings. 

Later, Kaden James (215) had the Redhawks’ lone victory against Keene and to close out the day, Konnor James, Max Hunter, Thomas Bagdon and Antes earned victories against Mount Greylock. 

Youth hockey

Charles Barbato and Lucas Edson scored in FCHA 10U’s 3-2 loss to Brattleboro Sunday.