SOUTH HADLEY — Although the Mahar wrestling team had already clinched a dual meet win over South Hadley, the 175-pound bout between the Senators’ Tristen Gaj and the Tigers’ Jasiel Ramos was the best of the night. The two went back-and-forth throughout the entire first and second frames, both having chances to put each other away on a number of occasions.

But neither could, until the final seconds when Ramos ultimately ran out of gas. Gaj stuck him with eight seconds remaining in the third period to earn a thrilling win for Mahar.

The one match summed up South Hadley’s night, as the Tigers came up just a bit short in several bouts en route to a 54-29 dual-meet loss on Tuesday night.

“We came in a little banged up and a little sick, so the guys wrestled and powered through some of those matches,” South Hadley head coach Byron Joy said. “We had a couple of decent matches with a few bright spots, but we certainly have a lot to work on.”

For the first time in a long time, South Hadley has enough wrestlers to fill a lineup. On Tuesday, the Tigers forfeited the 113-poound weight class due to injury and illness, forcing others to shift around, but they still have more wrestlers than recent years – and that’s been a huge positive for Joy.

“We have the numbers this year, which is something we haven’t had in the past,” Joy said. “It’s great to have most of the lineup filled. This is something that we have not had the luxury of having the past couple of years. The numbers are there, it’s just a matter of getting a little bit more disciplined and focused for our matches. The chemistry is building and we’re moving in the right direction.”

PJ Lavelle got the Tigers on the board with a pin in the 120-pound weight class, bringing them to within six of Mahar, 12-6, early on. The teams then traded one more pin apiece, with South Hadley’s Brock Dotson-Dufault earning a stick in the 132-pound bout, to make it 18-12. It was all Mahar after that, as the visitors won the next four matches via pinfall – expanding their lead to 42-12.

Eli Yakovlev (165), Darius Gelinas (215) and Roberto Melendez (285) picked up pins for South Hadley as well, making the final score 54-29.

Joy saw plenty of positives to take away from Tuesday’s meet, including the excitement his team showed during the Gaj/Ramos match. Despite being down, the Tigers still cheered loud and proud for their teammates on the mat.

“Jasiel Ramos and Tristen Gaj was an incredible match,” Joy said. “Just a very good match with some good wrestling both ways, and everyone was invested on our bench.”

Girls basketball

Northampton 61, Longmeadow 45 — Bri Heafey torched the Lancers with a career-high 30 points including seven 3s as the Blue Devils rolled to a home win Tuesday night. Heafey scored 22 of those 30 in the first half.

Liv Joensen tossed in a dozen points and Emme Calkins added 11 for Northampton.

Springfield Central 56, Holyoke 20 — Kiara Perez led the Purple Knights with eight points in a loss to the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.

Kylie Blaha tossed in four points for Holyoke.

Hampshire 53, Amherst 13 – The Raiders built a 35-7 halftime lead and pulled away for a 40-point victory on Tuesday in Westhampton.

Monson 44, Granby 40 – Kalli White poured in a game-high 27 points, including 14 in the first quarter, but the Rams were edged by the Mustangs on Tuesday after Monson outscored them by a 17-6 margin in the fourth quarter.

Granby led 34-27 entering the fourth quarter. Brenna Moreno added six points for the Rams.

Central 56, Holyoke 20 – Kiara Perez led the Purple Knights with eight points in a loss to powerhouse Central. The Golden Eagles built a 16-2 lead after one quarter.

PV Christian 54, PVCICS 12 – Amirah Chabi-Yo, Isabella Cestero and Sofia Cestero scored four points apiece for the Dragons in Tuesday’s loss.

Boys basketball

Mount Everett 64, Smith Voc 52 – Domeniq Sanchez led the way for the Vikings with 19 points, and Josh Cole tossed in 14 points as Smith Voc dropped to 4-3 on the season with a loss on Tuesday.

Late Monday results

Boys basketball

Sci-Tech 53, Northampton 45 — Naihmond Peters-Wolfe tossed in a team-high 21 points followed by Brayden Nichols-Staples’ 19 points, but the Blue Devils fell short on their home floor Monday night.

Northampton was held scoreless (15-0) in the first quarter and could never fully overcome the early deficit.

Boys swimming

Belchertown 129, Northampton 15 — Drake Dragon excelled in the 100 breaststroke (first place, 1:09.56) and 100 butterfly (1:05.16) before he, Trent Harper, Liam Spraggon and Ryan Volz-Benoit won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:25.55 as the Orioles cruised to a win on Monday.

Cole Mattison-Gulotta finished second in two events for Northampton, the 200 freestyle (2:05.50) and the 100 breaststroke (1:18.17).

Girls swimming

Belchertown 96, Northampton 74 — Aubrey Harrington was a part of four first-place events (200 medley relay 2:06.48, 200 freestyle 2:19.36, 400 freestyle relay 4:09.56, and 100 butterfly 1:13.82) to lead the Orioles to victory in a tight match with the Blue Devils on Monday.

Amalia Guerra took first in the 200 IM (2:18.86) and teamed up with Juliet Mitchell, Willa O’Donnell and Jayda Alejandro to win the 200 freestyle relay (2:00.13) for Northampton.

Valerie Williams also had a strong day for Belchertown, winning the 100 breaststroke (1:21.53) and joining Harrington, Addyson Thomas and Grace Perron in the 400 freestyle relay to earn first place.