Defense of the Hardwood Belt Begins

Last year's magic carpet ride through the state playoff was unforgettable.

But, as Coach Gomes would no doubt say, that's over. New year, new team....but the same buidling blocks and the same goal - the state championship. Another belt to take.

The basketball Hawks' defense of the 2014 belt began this past Thursday night, as the our guys throttled the Cranston West Falcons in their first league game of the season, 63-20. Judging by that score, it'd be pretty difficult for anyone who hadn't been at the game to grasp that the Hawks were actually a bit uneven out of the gate, but once they found their footing, it was off to the races.

Our guys held a 22-8 advantage at halftime and then proceeded to blow the doors off Pepin Gym by outscoring the Falcons 41-12 in the second half.

Of course, The Network was there, high above courtside - well, not too high, I suppose - with Network veteran Johnathan Feeny and newcomer Colton Capobianco doing a bang-up job on play-by-play and analysis in the first game working as a broadcast team, Steve Hafey handling social media duties in his own - um - "unique" fashion - Sam LaFrance working the camera, and Cam Brennan taking notes and stats.

Coach Gomes then sat down with Network vets Johnathan Feeny and Max Zweiner for the first Saturday morning edition of the Hawks' Basketball Show, which we air live from Dunkin' Donuts at Sakonossett Crossroads in Garden City (owned by Max's Dad, Mr. George Zweiner, '86 graduate and tremendoud patron of The Network). answered questions about the West game, looked forward to the games upcoming that night against Corner Canyon (Utah) - which we'll touch upon here in a moment -, the one on Tuesday night at North Kingstown, and, of course, the quickly approaching trip to Orlando, Florida to play in the Walt Disney Classic. The entire show can be seen here:

Our guys then welcomed in the Corner Canyon Chargers to Pepin Gym, a big, talented, athletic, and well-coached team that posed a real challenge. Indeed, the Hawks had their hands full from the opening jump and trailed by as many as 14 points with about five minutes remaining; but, as one of the hallmarks of a Coach Gomes team is to never stop playing and to lock down on defense, the Hawks battled all the way back over the course of that final five minutes and nearly pulled off the win, falling just short, 57-53.

Another point worth mentioning from The Network end of things is that the game against Corner Canyon was part of our first double broadcast of the winter sports season - at 6:30 pm, the Hawks's hockey team faced off against the Smithfield Sentinels (which we'll get to in the next written piece here on the site), and then at about 7:15, the Hawks and the Chargers went at it....with both games broadcast LIVE, right here. It was a great night.

The winter season is well undwerway now, and all our teams are looking good. The basketball team's defense of the title appears as though it'll be a good one. Stay with The Network for all the coverage.