The Pioneer boys basketball team has taken a step forward each year in the MIAA Division 5 state tournament. 

In 2022 — the first year of the new statewide tournament format — the Panthers earned the No. 15 seed, beat Prospect Hill Academy in the Round of 32 but fell to Baystate Academy in the Round of 16. The following year Pioneer went into the tournament as the No. 4 seed, knocked off Keefe Tech in the Round of 32 and beat KIPP Academy of Lynn in the Round of 16 to reach the Div. 5 quarterfinals, where it lost to Maynard. 

Last winter, Pioneer once again made it one round further. The No. 3 seed, the Panthers beat Fenway in the Round of 32, Athol in the Round of 16 before knocking off Drury in the quarterfinals to clinch a spot in the Final Four. Pioneer was unable to get past New Mission in the semis however.

The Panthers made it one round further again this year. The No. 1 seed in the Div. 5 field, Pioneer cruised to wins over Prospect Hill Academy in the Round of 32, Old Colony in the Round of 16 and Ware in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals for the second year in a row, where it took on Drury at West Springfield High School on Tuesday. 

Under the old format in 2018, Pioneer won the Western Mass. Div. 4 tournament but fell to central Mass. champion Maynard in the state semifinal game. 

The Panthers weren’t going to be denied a spot in the finals this year, dominating No. 4 Drury to earn a 49-23 victory to clinch a spot at the Tsongas Center in Lowell over the weekend. 

While Pioneer would have been happy with a championship game appearance last year, the Panthers have their eyes set on bringing some hardware back to Northfield this weekend. 

“It feels great but our eyes are set on different goals,” senior Brayden Thayer said of Tuesday’s semifinal win. “Last year our goal was to make the championship game but this year it feels like we have a real shot at winning it."

It wasn’t just a breakthrough to the finals for the boys basketball team, as members of the squad like Alex McClelland and Jackson Glazier have been closing in on a state championship game appearance on the baseball diamond. 

The Pioneer baseball team has reached the semifinals each of the last three years but fell to Georgetown last year, Hopkins in 2023 and Hopedale in 2022 in their Final Four contests. 

“Something with our school,” senior Kurt Redeker said. “We just couldn't break through the Final Four.”

It’s easy to think this is Pioneer’s year. After all, it will head into Saturday’s Div. 5 championship game against No. 2 Hopedale in Lowell (noon tip-off at Tsongas Center) with an unblemished 25-0 record. The Panthers haven’t had a game decided by 10 points or less since December, and they’ve had an average margin of victory of 38.5 points throughout the state tournament. 

Panthers coach Scott Thayer pushed back against that narrative that it’s just their year, knowing they’ll be facing the second-seeded team in the field in the title game. 

“The last three or four years we’ve had opportunities,” Scott Thayer said. “In sports, you just want to work hard enough to give yourself a chance. If you have an opportunity, it’s up to us to take advantage of it. I don’t necessarily think it’s our year by any means. Sports are emotional. You lose, you’re disappointed and you win, you’re elated. I’ve played and lost but I’d rather have played and lost because at least I had a chance. We try to give the kids that message not just for sports but for life.” 

Tuesday was the third meeting of the season between Pioneer and Drury and after wins by scores of 76-45 and 53-36, it would have been easy for the Panthers to overlook their semifinal opponent. 

That wasn’t the case, as Pioneer smothered the Blue Devils defensively and gave them nothing to work with on the offensive end. 

“It's tough playing a team three times and winning all of them,” Redeker said. “It was about communication and moving our feet defensively.”

It was a physical approach that the Panthers brought. They’ve learned from past experiences in the tournament about what it takes to win these kind of games. 

“We just wanted to bring the energy from the start, especially on the defensive end,” Brayden Thayer said. “We knew they were going to be physical because they wanted to fix the game up somehow to their advantage. We just kept the energy up and went from there. 

“We brought a different mindset,” Thayer added. “You can't think about beating them the first two times. We came with an open mindset today.”