Hopkins Academy Boys Hand Taconic First Loss

AMHERST, Mass. - Hopkins Academy used an 11-0 run to break an 11-11 tie and never looked back in handing the Taconic boys basketball team a 73-56 loss on Sunday at the Pioneer Valley Tip-Off on Sunday.

 

Sam'i Roe scored 19 points, and Spencer Butterfield scored 16 with nine rebounds as the Golden Hawks (2-0) handed Taconic its first loss of the season.

 

Taconic coach Bill Heaphy said he had a feeling his team was going to struggle in the Curry Hicks Cage, and, in that sense, his players did not disappoint him.

 

"We didn't come mentally ready to play," Heaphy said. "And when you don't come mentally ready to play, then you foul, you do things that -- you're not alert, you don't concentrate.

 

"I just felt we were flat from the minute we got off the bus. And I was concerned about that. We were so excited and up on Thursday [a season-opening win over Longmeadow]. But with this early morning bus trip -- I just had a feeling.

 

"It didn't matter what the game plan was. When you're not ready to go and focused and concentrating, you get the effort you saw."

 

Abdiel Cotto set up Devon Walker on a baseline inbound play coming out of a timeout with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 11-11.

 

But Hopkins' Brett Morrison answered with a 3-pointer at the other end to spark an 11-0 run that ended on the first possession of the second quarter, when Butterfield knocked down a triple.

 

That shot made it 22-11, but Taconic had one more run of its own, getting within four points late in the second quarter when Matt Stracuzzi hit a 3 to make it 30-26.

 

But the Hawks closed the half on an 8-0 run that ended with Justin Ciaglo's 3-pointer, Hopkins' sixth of the half.

 

The second half belonged to Roe, who scored 17 points after intermission -- seven from the foul line.

 

Treyvon Ringgold also had a strong second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 24 points. His putback at the end of the third quarter capped a six-point Taconic run to make it 52-40.

 

But Hopkins opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to push its lead to 20 points before settling for the 17-point final margin.

 

Taconic travels to Westfield on Tuesday.