Claremont
“He took a lot of money from a lot of people that day,” said Cardinals coach Matt Baird-Torney.
On Monday night he took the heart out of Hopkinton, making five-of-six free throws in the last 31 seconds to lead the Cardinals to a 60-56 win over the Hawks in a key late-season NHIAA Division III game.
Hopkinton, still the top seed at 15-2 after Monday’s loss, played in from behind most of the night. The Hawks trailed 51-44 with five minutes and 35 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
But the fun was just beginning.
The Hawks snarled back and cut the lead to 55-53 with 1:01 to play, aced by a 23-point night from senior Henry Yianakopolos. But the free throw line, which saved the Cardinals in the end, and doomed the Hawks, as Hopkinton missed four consecutive free throws down the stretch.
The Hawks, now in foul-at-all-cost mode, made the simple mistake of fouling the wrong guy. Hopkinton, with 31.7 seconds to go, finally corralled the swift Spaulding who went to the line and missed the first free throw but made the second to bring the lead to 56-53.
Hopkinton, in its haste, turned the ball over and had to foul again and again. It was Spaulding again with 18.3 seconds left. Swish went both shots. Stevens now looked comfortably in front.
But there was still more drama.
Hopkinton ran into trouble getting the ball up the court, but a desperate, long 3-pointer from Cam Cyr banked off the glass. The Hawks now trailed by only two.
Stevens called a timeout with 5.6 seconds to go. Baird-Torney said, after the game, he knew who the in-bounds pass was going to. It went to Spaulding, who was once again fouled. He dropped in two clean free throws. Finally, the Hawks were put away.
Spaulding said making free throws in the fundraiser was a little different than what happened Monday night.
“It was hard to find your comfort zone in a game like this,” he said.
The game was crucial to Stevens. The Cards (14-3), who started the game in fourth place in the D-III standings, were in danger of dropping several spots and couldn’t afford another loss. Should Stevens win its finale at Mascoma on Friday night, it would guarantee at least one first round tournament game at home.
“This felt like a tourney game tonight,” said Baird-Torney, who returned to the bench after missing Friday’s game dealing with a family situation. “A game like this was good for us.”
In fairness to Hopkinton, the team did play without its point guard Zach Signor, the son of coach Steve Signor.
“And he not only runs the offense, but he is perhaps our best defender,” said Hawks coach Signor who also said that 6-foot-4 center Liam Flanagan was just coming off the flu over the weekend.
“I don’t know how much I’m going to get out of (Flanagan),” said Signor before the game. Flanagan finished the game with two points.
While Spaulding’s free throws were pivotal, a lot of basketball was played before the final seconds. The Cardinals got huge games from the O’Brien boys, Nick and Zach, and Parker Smith. Nick O’Brien and Smith each had 16 points while Zach O’Brien had 16 rebounds, 10 off the offensive glass, and 11 points.
Stevens led by as many as nine in the third quarter, but a defensive lapse in the middle of the third led to two fast-break baskets and by the end of the period it was just a four-point lead at 42-38. Stevens then got the lead to seven twice in the fourth quarter before the Hawks came storming back.
Hopkinton also has just one regular season game left, hosting Mascenic on Friday.