Basketball Shines in Orlando but comes up Just Short of the Title

"Breaking barriers" has been a consistent theme with The Network, now in its third full year of existence. From working with fairly high-level media personalities, to ringing up ridiculous amounts of internet traffic on The Network site, to doing the play-by-play work for professional basketball games, Network stalwarts Cam Brennan, Stone Freeman, Remy, Morris, Max Zeiner, and the irrepressible Dylan "DT" Barron have done a pretty solid job of making their marks in the new world of new media.

The primary beneficiary of the first-rate work has been the Bishop Hendricken community, as those back in Hawk Nation have been given the opportunities to follow Hawks sports and watch games in ways that they never could before.

Over the Christmas break, those five guys have once again gone the extra mile - no pun intended - to bring big basketball games back to our fans. Coach Jamal Gomes and the rest of his staff brought our basketball team down to Orlando, Florida, to compete in the prestigious Walt Disney Classic over the Christmas break, and The Network went along with them, broadcasting all three games back up here so that our fans could watch. It was truly a milestone, but not only for The Network staff but also for Bishop Hendricken as a whole.

On the basketball side of things, our guys played great but, unfortunately, came up just short of the tourney title when they fell in triple overtime to Dover High School (Ohio) in the championship game, 63-58. Justin Mazzulla and Dmitri Rosa were outstanding throughout the tournament, with JMazz awarded team MVP honors and Dmitri putting on a shooting exhibition in the semi-final game that had to be seen to be believed. Dan Flaherty, Kyle Henseler, and Ira Lough also came up big for the Hawks throughout the tournament, whenever they needed a lift.

In the first game, the Hawks handled West Hampton High School (NJ) with relative ease, getting out to a quick lead, extending it over the course of the game, and eventually winning going away by a final score of 74-63. Once our guys got going, it was a pretty impressive display. Dan Flaherty was tough down low....

...the Hawks' transition game was clicking, seen here in Ira Lough's quick no-look pass to Justin Mazzulla....

....Dmitri Rosa started to turn up the heat from the outside....

...and Justin Mazzulla put an exclamation point on the win with a dunk.

The story of the second game was Dmitri Rosa's shooting display, which, as said above, had to be seen to be believed. Other Hawks contributed to the 93-63 thrashing of University High School (California), a team that seemed to have little interest in playing defense and simply wanted the ball back to shoot. Kyle Henseler continued to provide his steady hand running the Hawks' offense and his tough play when necessary....

....and freshman Preston Santos continued to make his presence felt, even against stiff competition....

....but it was the combined play of Justin Mazzulla (33 points) and Dmitri Rosa (29) that led the way. Dmitri hit nine three pointers and was so hot that seemingly every time he touched the ball, people were standing up in anticipation.

The championship game against Dover High School (Ohio) was, in no uncertain terms, a classic. Both teams were extremely well-coached, defensive minded, and evenly matched. The Hawks eventually lost, but it took three overtimes and probably several heart attacks from all the Dover fans in attendance before they finally put our guys away, 63-58. Justin Mazzulla got things rolling for the Hawks with an early three....

...Ira Lough continued his solid play....

....and Dmitri continued to light it up from outside.

All in all, it was a great experience for all who went - the team, the coaches, The Network staff, family, and friends. The Network set viewership records, and we even made some new friends from around the country. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we can do something similar again.

The Hawks are in action again on Tuesday in the game of games, home against LaSalle Academy at 7 pm. Pepin Gym is sure to be packed, but The Network will be there with wall-to-wall coverage, so if you can't be there, be sure to tune in.