LOWELL — After a decade of playing together, Kurt Redeker and the other seniors on the Pioneer Valley boys’ basketball team have learned a lesson about sharpshooting guard Brayden Thayer.
“When he’s hot,” Redeker said, “he’s hot.”
In Saturday’s Division 5 championship game against Hopedale, Thayer was red hot. The senior guard scored 26 points, draining six 3-pointers, as the top-seeded Panthers cruised to their first title since 1997 with a 49-28 win at the Tsongas Center.
“I’ve been with these guys since we were 10, 11 years old,” Thayer said. “To end it off the way we did, all playing together on one team, it’s pretty special . . . I’m honestly speechless.”
The zone defense of Hopedale (22-3) caused Pioneer Valley issues in the first quarter, but the Panthers (25-0) opened up a large lead by halftime and never looked back.
Scott Thayer said his Pioneer Valley squad from Northfield just needed to “get comfortable” with the zone. And when his son began knocking down a series of 3-pointers, the offense began to flow.
Pioneer Valley pulled away in the second quarter, finishing the frame on a 15-0 run that featured 8 points from Thayer. The Panthers kept it going in the third quarter, and built a 22-point lead heading into the fourth.
“They were just tough,” Hopedale coach Tony Cordani said of Pioneer Valley. “They’re more talented, one through five, their point guard [Thayer] was terrific . . . and the way they play defense, they force you to take perimeter shots.”
The Panthers feature size across their lineup, and hardly ever missed a defensive rotation. Redeker handled the assignment of Hopedale standout Patrick Madden, limiting the dynamic guard to 13 points.
“He’s just a hard-nosed kid,” Scott Thayer said of Redeker. “He’s very athletic, but he’s been with me so he understands the angles.”
Pioneer Valley has been a buzzsaw all season, outscoring opponents by 35.8 points per game in the MIAA tournament. The Panthers won by double digits in 24 of their 25 wins.
But even as they routed opponents throughout the season, the Panthers tried not to think about their perfect record, which they worried could detract from their focus. Now, they’re letting it sink in.
“”Everybody kept asking me, ‘What are you going to do when you get in a close game?’” Scott Thayer said. “Well, I know they played in close games, but I guess we’ll never know.”
Pioneer Valley 49, Hopedale 28
at Tsongas Center, Lowell
Hopedale (22-3) 11 2 7 8 — 28
Pioneer Valley Regional (25-0) 10 15 17 7 — 49
HOPEDALE — Danny Carroll 0 0 0, JJ Douglas 2 0 6, Brayden Lewis 0 0 0, Patrick Madden 4 4 13, Robbie Manning 2 0 5, Keigan Murphy 1 0 3, Nate Rutkowski 0 1 1. Totals 9 5 28.
PIONEER VALLEY REGIONAL — Jackson Glazier 0 0 0, Kurt Redeker 2 1 5, Brayden Thayer 10 0 26, Alex McClelland 5 0 13, Ben Werner 0 0 0, Judah Glenn 1 0 2, Will Glazier 1 0 3. Totals 19 1 49.
3-pt. goals: H, JJ Douglas 2, Patrick Madden, Robbie Manning, Keigan Murphy; PV, Brayden Thayer 6, Alex McClelland 3, Will Glazier
