Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Basketball Continues to Run in the Fast Lane


Shortly before game time last night, The Network's Twitter feed exploded with the anticipated news that, until that time, hung unspoken in the air throughout Pepin Gym:








So much for eager young minds, I guess.

In any event, the basketball Hawks continued to progress last night with a 66-54 win over the East Providence Townies, a game broadcast live right here on The Network. You can still watch the game here on the site, as the latter portion of the second half is still available in the central UStream viewer at the top of the page, and the entire first half, halftime, and the first portion of the second half are available here:

           
Video streaming by Ustream
With the win the Hawks go to 9-1 in league play, and with each game and possible win, the games continue to increase in importance and magnitude, as time grows short between today and the looming matchup with archrival LaSalle on Sunday, February 16th, down on Academy Avenue. The Rams are currently undefeated and are, by all accounts, the best team in the state.  Although LaSalle and Hendricken are not in the same division, the outcome of the game is sure to have implications for seeding in the state playoff tournament. If both squads continue to win, that gym will no doubt be packed, and there's likely to be plenty of media coverage - call it a 'poor man's Super Sunday'. The Network will be there broadcasting live, in what is shaping up to be a great afternoon. 

As for the game last night, the Townies came in to Pepin in the midst of a down year, but there is clearly talent on that team, as they gave our guys all they could handle for the majority of the first half. The Hawks went into the intermission with only a six-point lead, 29-23. 

Much like the game against Classical, however, the Hawks methodically asserted themselves as the second half unfolded, and despite the fact the the Townies made a couple of min-runs during which they cut the lead to 10 with about three minutes to go, our guys had more or less settled the matter by the time the game had reached its last six minutes or so. 

Matt Duffie (17 points), Garfield Coustard and Ira Lough (13 apiece) and Justin Mazzulla (11) all reached double figures and led the way for the Hawks.

After the game, @RhodyWill made an astute observation on Twitter:



The Hawks are scheduled to be in action again tonight at Cranston East, but it's more than likely that the game will be postponed as a reult of the storm. The Network will hit the airwaves again this Friday night for a hockey matchup between the Hawks and Hamden, Connecticut, from Thayer Arena at 8pm.
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