AMHERST — Sam’i Roe did just about everything for the Hopkins Academy boys basketball team Monday night.
Roe’s contributions all over the floor helped the Golden Hawks beat Lenox, 62-50, in the Western Massachusetts Division 4 Tournament semifinal at UMass’ Curry Hicks Cage.
Roe played suffocating defense on Lenox leading scorer Pat Colvin. The junior had six steals, four of which led to uncontested layups. On offense, Roe who finished with 19 points and four assists.
“I wanted to come out aggressive,” Roe said. “My defense led to offense for us.”
After a shaky start for Hopkins that saw the Golden Hawks trail 12-11 after a quarter, the Golden Hawks got an offensive spark from the bench.
“They kind of snap into it when they want,” Hopkins coach Angelo Thomas said. “We came out a little flat. We didn’t have the energy that we needed. The defense picked us up and it led to easy baskets for us. That got us going and energized.”
Sophomore John Earle’s shooting stroke facilitated a 14-0 run that gave the Golden Hawks the lead for good. Earle finished with 15 points on three 3-pointers.
“The ball was moving and I ended up with it for open looks,” Earle said. “That’s what we are all about. It was my turn tonight. It felt great to get us going offensively. I was pumped.”
The defending champion Golden Hawks advance to the finals where they to play No. 3 Quaboag (10-11), which beat No. 2 Granby, 57-53, earlier in the night. Both teams will return to the Cage for a shot at the championship this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Quaboag was the Western Mass. champion in 2014 and reached the state finals.
“They are a tough central Mass. team,” Thomas said. “I watched them some tonight and I’ve seen them play a couple times before. We’ll be ready to go.”
Earle scored 10 points during the stretch in the second quarter, including two 3-pointers.
“He’s our spark. Our microwave,” Thomas said. “I’ve seen him do that so many times so it’s not surprising. He strokes it. When he shoots it doesn’t hit anything but net.”
Hopkins was balanced on offense, with Brett Morrison scoring 11 points and Jon Morrison scoring 10. During the second quarter run, Jon Morrison scored on the inside to complement Earle’s outside shooting.
After Earle’s big second quarter, Roe led all scorers in the third quarter with seven. After the third quarter the Golden Hawks led 45-28.
With a large lead late, Thomas emptied his bench while Lenox left its starters in the game. With Roe on the bench, Colvin (14 points) hit three 3-pointers for Lenox to close the gap on the scoreboard.
Adam Hargraves can be reached at ahargraves@gazettenet.com.
Hopkins Academy 62, Lenox 50
Millionairs (12-10)
Colvin 4-2-14, Coakley 2-6-10, Heppleston 1-0-3, Hurley 1-0-3, Reynolds 4-0-8, Shepard 3-2-9, Steinman 1-0-3. Totals: 16-10-50
Golden Hawks (22-0)
J. Butterfield 0-0-0, S. Butterfield 0-0-0, Ciaglo 0-0-0, Earle 5-2-15, B. Morrison 5-0-11, J. Morrison 5-0-10, Roe 7-4-19, Pipczynski 2-2-6, Spanknebel 0-1-1, Tudryn 0-0-0, Kelley 0-0-0, King 0-0-0, Mackin 0-0-0, Graves 0-0-0, Waldon 0-0-0. Totals: 24-9-62
Lenox 12 7 9 22—62
Hopkins 11 18 16 17—62
3-pointers: Lenox 8 (Colvin 4, Heppleston, Hurley, Shepard, Steinman); Hopkins 5 (Earle 3, B. Morrison, Roe)
