WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — In a season where they have left little doubt about their superiority, the Pioneer boys basketball team took it to a new height Tuesday night in West Springfield.

The Panthers held the Drury Blue Devils to only three points over the second and third quarters on the way to a 49-23 victory in the MIAA Division 5 Semifinals.

Brayden Thayer scored 15 points, and Kurt Redeker added 14 to send the top-seeded Panthers into this Saturday’s state championship game at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, where Pioneer will play second-seeded Hopedale, a 57-56 winner over Westport on Tuesday night.

Pioneer looks to cap a perfect season and the school’s first state title since 1997.