GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — Franklin County now has four remaining teams involved in the MIAA State Basketball Championships after three local teams were bounced from the tourney on Monday night.
The Pioneer Panthers came up just short in their girls Round of 16 road matchup. The 10th seeded Panthers fell to #7 Maynard, 42-41. The Panthers, who had advanced to the Western Mass Class D finals, will return most of their players next season, and will likely be a force not only in Western Mass girls basketball, but potentially in the state overall.
The Mahar Senators lost decisively to top-seed Hoosac in Cheshire, 63-32. The Hurricanes blew open what had been a close game in the second quarter to win going away. The Frontier Red Hawks also saw their season come to an end in a 59-34 lose at Cohasset in the Division 4 Round of 16.
Tonight, the boys Division 5 Round of 16 takes center stage. The third-seeded Pioneer Panthers host #14 Athol at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. You can hear that game live on Bear Country 95.3 and online at bear953.com.
The fifth-seeded Mahar Senators, the WMass champions, will be at home in Orange tonight against #21 Old Colony Regional Voc-Tech. That game is also set to start at 6:00.
The winners of tonight’s games advance to the state quarterfinal round, at a date and time to be announced.