SOUTH HADLEY — Sam’i Roe’s skills on offense are well documented.
But in his senior season, his ability to swarm an opposing team’s top scoring option could be as valuable as his scoring.
In Hopkins Academy’s season-opening 69-50 win over South Hadley Friday, Roe held Calvin Bridges to 11 points.
“I came out aggressive,” Roe said. “I heard he was their best player so I knew I had to play tight defense.”
The offense was also there for Roe, who finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
The Golden Hawks caught fire in the third quarter and pulled away from the Tigers. John Earle and Justin Ciaglo’s 3-point shooting helped stretch the lead.
Earle had six 3-pointers in the game and finished with 20 points.
Roe fed Nate Kelley with a behind-the-back pass that led to a layup just as the third quarter buzzer sounded.
Roe “made 100 percent of the right plays on offense,” Hopkins coach Angelo Thomas said.
Hopkins had a 12-point lead at halftime.
There was a matchup in the paint between Hopkins’ Jon Morrison and South Hadley’s Matt Grochowalski.
Morrison’s aggressive play on the glass and on defense fueled the Golden Hawks’ attack.
“He’s been beasting so far this year,” Hopkins coach Angelo Thomas said. “That’s the Jon I know. I saw bits and pieces last year. He’s going after it hard.”
In the first quarter, Morrison stole a pass around mid-court and went uncontested for a one-handed dunk.
Morrison had 11 points with three steals. He went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line, often getting fouled on offensive putback attempts.
Grochowalski (eight points) got hot briefly in the second quarter to cut the Hopkins lead 28-22, but the Golden Hawks closed the half with 3-pointers by Ciaglo and Roe.
Outside of Bridges, Grochowalski and Nate Poirier, who led South Hadley with 13 points, the Tigers had trouble on offense.
“Nothing that we practiced really translated into the game,” South Hadley coach Juan Maldonaldo said.
With Roe penetrating and the outside shooters hitting for the Golden Hawks, the Tigers had trouble defending.
“Roe is a big strong guard,” Maldonaldo said. “When he’s getting in the lane and those shooters are hitting it creates chaos.”
Senior transfer Irvin Compass didn’t play for Hopkins as he is serving a five-game suspension.
John Duggan 56, Gateway Regional 52 — The Gators dropped their season opener while John Duggan won its inaugural opener in Huntington.
Shane Mastello had 19 points, while Jake McKittrick had a career-high 16 in defeat. Brett Turban added 14 for Gateway.
The Gators had the ball with 44 seconds left in a tied game. They missed inside and Duggan converted at the other end. Gateway couldn’t answer and Duggan added free throws to seal the win.
John Duggan 56, Gateway 52
John Duggan (1-0)
Figeroa 5-1-11, Williams 5-3-15, Encarnacion 2-0-4, Hernandez 6-0-17, A. Rodriguez 1-0-3, Burton 2-2-6. Totals: 21-6-56
Gateway (0-1, 0-1)
Mastello 6-7-19, Turban 6-0-14, McKittrick 6-3-16, Kowal 0-1-1, Rioux 1-0-2, Bushor 0-0-0. Totals: 19-11-52
|
Duggan |
9 |
14 |
19 |
14 |
—56 |
|
Gateway |
19 |
9 |
13 |
11 |
—52 |
3-Pointers—John Duggan 8 (Williams 2, Hernandez 5, Rodriguiez) Gateway 3 (Turban 2, McKittrick)
Hopkins Academy 69,
South Hadley 50
Hopkins (1-0)
Ciaglo 3-2-11, Earle 6-2-20, Kelley 1-0-2, Roe 10-2-23. Morrison 3-5-11, Mihalick 1-0-2. Totals 24-11-69
South Hadley (0-1)
Bridges 4-0-11, Grochowalski 3-0-8, Poirier 6-0-13, Carey 0-5-5, Borowsski 1-0-2, Drapeau, 0-1-1, Harris 2-2-8, Larrier 1-0-2. Totals 17-8-50
|
Hopkins |
16 |
18 |
24 |
11 |
—69 |
|
|
South Hadley |
8 |
14 |
10 |
18 |
—50 |
3-Pointers—Hopkins 10 (Earle, 6; Ciago 3, Roe) South Hadley 8 (Bridges, 3; Grochowalski 2, Poirier, Harris 2)
