The Western Mass. boys and girls basketball tournament brackets have been revealed.
The first round of the tournament will take place on Monday, when four Recorder Area teams will be hosting games while six others will be on the road. Eight teams made the field in each division.
The Pioneer boys basketball team is the highest seeded local team, earning the No. 1 slot in the Class D bracket. The Panthers will host No. 8 Baystate Academy at 6 p.m., with the winner facing off against either No. 4 Granby or No. 5 Duggan.
The Greenfield boys were seeded No. 2 in the Class B field, where it was scheduled to host No. 7 Renaissance. The Phoenix were forced to forfeit the game, however, due to over-scheduling during the regular season, giving the Green Wave a spot in the semifinals.
Also in the Class C bracket is Athol, who enters as the No. 6 seed. The Bears will go on the road to take on fellow Hampshire League North foe Mt. Greylock, the No. 3 seed. It’ll be the third meeting between the two, with the Mounties winning both matchups (66-51, 74-60).
The Greenfield will host the Athol/Greylock winner in the semifinals.
The Mahar boys closed out the season by winning five of their last seven games to earn the final spot in the Class B tournament. The No. 8 Sens will head out to Pittsfield to take on No. 1 Taconic at 6:30.
Two Recorder Area schools will be competing in the Class B girls tournament. Frontier comes in as the No. 6 seed and will take on No. 3 Easthampton on Monday at 6. The Redhawks knocked off the Eagles in the Div. 4 state tournament last winter but Easthampton got its revenge by beating Frontier 59-48 back in January.
Mahar earned the No. 7 seed in Class B, where it will make the journey to Dalton to take on No. 2 Wahconah at 5 p.m.
A nearly unblemished regular season record put Franklin Tech as the No. 3 seed in the Class C field, with the Eagles set to host No. 6 Drury at 7. Greenfield is the No. 7 seed in the Class C bracket and will be on the road against No. 2 Palmer, with tip set for 6 p.m. The Green Wave and the Panthers met twice in Franklin County League North action, with Palmer winning both contests (53-45, 58-28). The winner of those two games will face off in the semifinals.
Before the Pioneer boys tip off, the Panther girls will be in action at Messer Gymnasium. Pioneer secured the No. 4 seed in the Class D field and will play host to No. 5 Mt. Everett at 4:30. Turners also earned a spot in the Class D field, where it will be the No. 6 seed and travel to Monson to take on the No. 3 Mustangs.