Basketball Moves to Top of D1, Downs Barrington 61-55

Coming into yesterday's pivotal matchup with undefeated and D1-leading Barrington, the Hawks carried with them a 10-1 league record and an overall slate of 13-5. The one league loss came on the road at Hope, but four of the five losses were against out-of-state competition: Corner Canyon (Utah), Dover High School (Ohio) in the finals of the Walt Disney Classic, Malden Catholic (Mass.) in the Boston Garden, and New Bedford High Schoiol (Mass.) in the CCRI Classic. Of course, those results can generally be interpreted in one of two ways - the Hawks are either not good enough to beat quality competition outside the insular world of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League, or Coach Gomes puts a premium on placing his teams up against high-quality competition that toughens his players up, both physically and mentally.

Based on what we've seen of this year's edition of the Hawks, it's pretty clear that the latter of the two choices is the correct one. With the exception of the beating that our guys absorbed at the hands of Malden Catholic - and, let's face it, Malden Catholic is a very good team, and on that day it was a beating - the Hawks have stayed right with all those other teams. In fact, it took a very good Dover team three overtimes before they were finally able to dispatch our guys in that championship final. The larger, more important consideration in all of those games, however, was the intangible element of tough, late-game experience, situations that require mental toughness and character.

After watching yesterday's game against the Eagles unfold, anyone who was there and who knows the Hawks could clearly see that all that experience gleaned from those tough situations was on full display as the second half unfolded at Brown's Pizzatola Center.

The entire game can be seen right here:

Of course, it's worth noting that yesterday's game against Barrington had been moved to a Sunday and to Brown before the season even started because, knowing that this would most likely be a high-profile game, Dennis DeJesus of the Special Olympics asked if both teams would mind the move, with all proceeds going to benefit the great work done by that organization. Consequently, given the magnitude of the game and the special cause that was being both celebrated and supported, the Pizzatola Center was nearly full. It gave the Sunday-after-Super Bowl Sunday a super feeling of its own.

To celebrate Special Olympics, the Hendricken and Barrington Unified basketball teams met in an exhibition. The Unified basketball season gets underway in the spring.

In fact, The Network's own Harrison Tuttle was one of the key players in yesterday's game, before changing back to his everyday gear and sitting in with Johnathan Feeny high above courtside to provide some color analysis of the latter part of the Hawks-Eagles game, when most people in the Pizzatola Center were on the edge of their seat.

Speaking of The Network, there was a full gang on hand to provide assistance in yesterday's production: Cam Brennan, Johnathan Feeny, Conner Saulnier, Ben Macksoud, Max Zweiner, Bobby Bordieri, and of course, "HT".

The Providence Journal's photo gallery from yesterday's game can be seen HERE.

In many ways, the first half played out much as everyone on hand probably expected: a tough, grind-it-out-in-the-paint type of game, two of the best teams in the state going head-to-head. The Hawks were once again plagued by a stretch about halfway through the first frame during which the ball simply didn't seem as though it wanted to go in the basket, but overall, one couldn't escape the general feeling that Barrington had slight control of the game and led at the break, 26-24.

The Eagles then came out of the locker room seemingly determined to put the petal to the metal and to break the Hawks' will to fight, starting fast and quickly opening a nine-point lead, 33-24. Coach Gomes called a timeout and settled his players, and from there, the game slowly and gradually turned.

Led by the shooting of Dmitri Rosa, the toughness and leadership of JMazz, the scoring ability of freshman Preston Santos, in addition to the overall toughness and character of their team, the Hawks climbed all the way back before taking the lead and control of the game as money time approached. Highlights can be seen right here:

JMazz fighting hard for two underneath -

...The Hawks battling down low as crunch time approached -

...and Preston Santos stretching the Hawks' late-game lead to six points -

As the game entered its final minute, the Eagles had no choice but to foul repeatedly to stop the clock, and our guys put the game away by hitting those clutch free throws. Dmitri, JMazz, and Preston accounted for 47 of the team's 61 points, but the entire team contributed to this important win, whether it was fighting down low on offense, on defense, or adding critical points when they were needed.

From here, the Hawks enter the late part of their season carrying their D1-leading 11-1 mark into home games against Smithfield (Tuesday night, 7 pm) and East Providence (Friday night, 7pm). Both are home games at Pepin Gym, and the Friday night game against East Providence is Senior Night, when the Hawks' seniors will be celebrated at the last regular season home game of their Hendricken careers.

....and The Network will be there with full, live coverage. Count on it.