SPRINGFIELD — Six weeks ago, the Chicopee Comp boys basketball team was in a close battle with Springfield Central at the half. The second half was a different story, as the Colts were run out of the gym, losing by 21 points back on Jan. 2.
This time around, in the Western Mass. Class A semifinals on Monday night, Third-seeded Chicopee Comp had a new kind of energy — especially on the defensive end.
The Colts fended off a late rally by the second-seeded Golden Eagles to capture a 65-64 victory in front of a sold-out crowd at Travis Best Court, putting them into the title game with a shot at winning the school’s first Western Mass. boys basketball title since 1988.
“We just came out with poise,” Comp head coach Gavin Miller said after the win. “I think the two games [that we played them before] prepared us, but that’s a tough team, any given night that’s a tough team to play, let alone to beat, so kudos to them.”
Allen Miranda was hot from the jump, scoring seven points in the first three minutes of the game, and he ended with 11 in the first quarter getting to the cup at will. Brody Fay kept the Colts in the game with back-to-back triples though, and Comp was down 22-16 at the end of the first frame.
Central (15-5) found itself up multiple possessions in the second quarter, but Colby Paul got the Colts within two at one point after drilling two deep balls late in the half. Paul hadn’t hit two threes in a game since Jan. 19 and was a huge spark off the bench for Comp.
“We put a big focus on making (Paul) comfortable, and putting him in good situations,” Miller said. “It’s really big for our main guys to really look for those other guys. Trust our teammates. That’s our word all year, trust, and it’s one thing that we have to just understand, that we have to just keep on pushing toward.”
Trailing 34-30, Comp went on an 8-0 in a flash, and forced a Central timeout. Head coach Bill Watson’s squad responded with five unanswered, but the Colts weren’t fazed. Modesto Galindrez and Paul hit big time triples to put Comp back on top, as the Colts outscored the Golden Eagles 17-9 in the third quarter. Miller kept reminding his team during timeouts to stay in the moment and understand what’s at stake.
“We’re not coming here to go up and say that we were up on them,” Miller said. “We want the win, so I have to keep our composure in those situations and just understand what the end goal is, and it wasn’t just to be up. We have to play until the buzzer.”
Comp (17-3) used a massive fourth-quarter performance from Elijah Kleps, as he had seven points in the final frame, and got the Colts up 63-54 with three minutes to go.
Central got buckets from Cabrera and Miranda down the stretch to cut the lead to just one however. The Colts were fouled with five seconds to go, and missed both free throws, but a half-court heave from the Golden Eagles fell short.
Comp had five players in double digits, and Paul finished with 12 points on the night. Elijah and Xavier Kleps shared team-high honors with 13 points apiece.
“It felt like I had a Zen on 2K. I felt like everything I put up was going in,” Paul said. “My teammates kept finding me, and I appreciate them for trusting me.”
Miranda led all scorers with a season-high 29 points, while Cabrera tossed in 11.
The Colts will face No. 1 Pope Francis, the three-time defending champion, in the Class A championship game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be played at Westfield High School.
