Seniors shine at Hall of Fame All-Star Game in Springfield (PHOTOS)
Published: 03-22-2024 10:10 AM |
SPRINGFIELD — Seniors from across Western Mass. gathered at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night to play one last game at the court inside the Hall itself. With a constant DJ, lights and photos of basketball legends everywhere, players savored a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play a game at the museum they visited as kids.
In the girls game, Easthampton’s Kayley Downie hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to lead Team Red to a 63-61 win over Team White. Downie scored nine points, all from second half 3-pointers, to earn MVP honors.
“Coming into this I was nervous, like super nervous,” Downie said. “I don’t play against Central or any of them, so I came in here scared and I think you could tell by the first half. After, everyone was like ‘get out of your head, get out of your head, take some deep breaths.’ And I came out here and wasn’t thinking really, just played.”
Ava Azzaro (Northampton) led Team Red with 10 points, and received the Hall of Fame’s Western Mass. Player of the Year award at halftime. Zola Hingham (Amherst) and Amilyan Treadwell-Mercedes (Holyoke) scored nine, Sophia Faginski (Easthampton) had eight, Drew Alley (South Hadley) had seven, Chloe Derby (Northampton) had five and Lea Chapman (Franklin Tech) finished with two.
In the boys Class A and B game, Northampton’s Silas Coles won his second MVP in as many weekends and led Team Black to a 113-97 win. After a team-leading 16 points in the Hampshire Franklin All-Star game, he scored 17, including five dunks.
“Back-to-back MVPs,” Coles said. “I couldn’t ask for more.”
Amherst’s Marcielo Aquino also scored 17, thanks to five makes from deep. Holyoke’s Shawn Rivera (nine) and Jamil Rodriguez (four) rounded out the scoring.
In the boys Class C and D game, Team White (Will Barnes of Mahar and Josh Wood of Pioneer Valley) beat Team Black (Colin Murdock of Granby, James Fitzgibbons of Hopkins Academy and Greg Stone of Smith Academy) 101-95 in overtime. Barnes scored 13, Wood and Murdock had eight, Fitzgibbons had seven and Stone finished with five.
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Here are those seniors’ thoughts on their final Western Mass. high school games.
Where does the Hall of Fame court rank among places you’ve played?
Silas Coles, Northampton: “It’s definitely the number one court. The Mullins Center is a close second, but this tops it all. The music, completely new to me….the environment was insane. This was so cool.”
“The Hall of Fame, it’s a place you go as a kid. You always dream of playing in a game here.”
Marcielo Aquino, Amherst: “Probably number one right in front of the Mullins Center. It’s crazy to be here with all these idols and legends of the game up there.”
Kayley Downey, Easthampton: “This is crazy. Looking up, I feel like I’m playing in (Gampel) Pavilion where UConn plays. It’s just so unreal. I don’t think I’ve played with this many people before, watching me.”
Ava Azzaro, Northampton: “I played here once when I was younger, but this was amazing. My whole family came, we have a big Italian family so everyone’s here. Some of our teammates were here, all of our friends were here. It was amazing and such a fun place to play.”
Colin Murdock, Granby: “I’ve never played in a place like this before. The lights, the music, everything. It was awesome.”
“At the top definitely.”
James Fitzgibbons, Hopkins Academy: “It was a crazy experience. The lights, the stars up there. Super fun experience to play at the Hall of Fame.”
“Definitely top-three for sure. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Josh Wood, Pioneer Valley: “The lights, the music. I’ve never been here before…so that made it even better. Playing on this court in Sprinfield, Mass. was great.”
How was the cap to your high school career?
Fitzgibbons: “Obviously I’m going to miss basketball a lot. I really think there’s nothing like Hopkins. The fans, everything. I’m going to miss it a lot.”
Shawn Rivera, Holyoke: “I was so sad at the end of the season when we didn’t win anything. But I was happy today, I was just having fun to be honest.”
Murdock: “The season is so serious. This is just laid back, having fun.”
Azzaro: “It was the best way we could have ended it honestly. And the fact that I had (Northampton coach) Perry (Messer) coaching me was amazing.”
How was playing with players you hadn’t seen in a while?
Coles, Aquino, TJ Reid (Pope Francis) and Andrew Mabry (Putnam) were all AAU teammates years ago. Coles even played with Garret Anderson of Pope Francis back in fifth grade.
Coles: “I’ve played against all these guys basically, so it’s really fun to play on the same team as them and compete against them.”
When they were younger, Azzaro, Derby, Downie, Lylah Jeannote (Minnechaug), Alyssa Caney (Chicopee Comp) and Alexus Sanchez (Westfield) were also AAU teammates. They got to share the floor once last time.
Downie: “It felt so good. It felt so good to come back and play with them.”
Azzaro: “It was really great. We haven’t really played together since we were 11. It was great to see everyone. I’ve been playing with these girls for a really long time, so it’s really sad for it to end but I’m so thankful for all these experiences.”