AMHERST, Mass. -- After falling in a big hole early and giving up 77 points in its season opener, the Hoosac Valley boys basketball team went into Saturday’s game wanting to make sure history did not repeat.

 

Instead, the Hurricanes played solid defense and got 25 points from Izaha Stubbs en route to a 57-45 win over Pioneer Valley in the Pioneer Valley Tip-Off at Curry Hicks Cage.

 

Hoosac Valley (1-1) gave up 12 3-pointers -- including 10 in the first half -- in Thursday’s season opener at Monument Mountain.

 

Saturday morning at UMass-Amherst, Pioneer made just five 3s.

 

“I think we really focused on closing out on 3-pointers,” Hoosac Valley coach Dave Harte said. “We’re not going to get beat from the 3-point line anymore. [On Thursday], we were overhelping, which we were really trying to help on Dion [Brown] in the Monument game. We way overhelped and made every pass too easy.

 

“So we’re going to start playing a little different. We’re still learning some of our personnel. I mean, with Izaha not starting, we’ve got one returning starter out there.”

Stubbs came off the bench midway through the first quarter and helped right the ship for the Hoosac Valley offense, which managed just three points in the first 5-½ minutes.

 

Fortunately for the Hurricanes, the Panthers were not scoring either, and it was a 4-3 game when Stubbs ripped a defensive rebound away from a Pioneer Valley player and scored his first basket to give Hoosac Valley a 5-4 lead.

 

Two trips later, he set up Shawn Kastner, who scored and got the and-one to put Hoosac up, 9-4.

 

And Hoosac Valley never looked back.

 

Stubbs started the second quarter by driving and dishing to Joe Delmolino for one of Stubbs’ four assists. That started a 7-0 run go give the Hurricanes a nine-point lead.

 

Midway through the second, Delmolino knocked down a triple to give the ‘Canes their first double-digit lead at 22-11.

 

It was 28-17 at half-time, and Pioneer Valley never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

 

Kastner finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Delmolino had six boards to go with his 10 points.

 

Hoosac Valley will look to build on its momentum on Monday when it goes to Lenox, the first of three games before the holiday break.

 

“We’ve got a tough start because we’ve got a game every other day this week,” Harte said. “With days off, we’ve only really had four or five practices.

 

“All in all, I was happy with the defensive effort, other than fouling, because that slows the tempo down, puts them in the one-and-one early, just keeps them hanging around. We couldn’t put them away.”