Hopkinton boys basketball coach Steve Signor didn’t mince words after Monday night’s dramatic 42-41 loss to Monadnock.
“It’s on us. We don’t finish around the rim. We’re bigger than everybody. If we can’t find a layup within two feet, we’re gonna be an early out in the playoffs. That’s the bottom line,” said Signor.
The bottom line Monday was that Hopkinton beat themselves. The Hawks went up 40-35 with three minutes to play in the fourth. They managed just one more point the rest of the way.
The paint was Hopkinton’s for the taking for most of the night. The Hawks were taller and stronger than the Huskies and showed it with a dominant display of offensive rebounding. But they failed to capitalize on those second chances for most of the game.
“We are not three-point shooters, everybody knows it,” said Signor.
Failure to finish around the rim left points on the board all night for Hopkinton, but it wasn’t the only loose bolt that led to the eventual collapse. Turnovers, defense and missed free throws were equally large factors in the Hawks’ loss.
Hopkinton had three turnovers in the final three minutes of action. Fumbled possessions helped swing momentum toward Monadnock, whose traveling fans supplied ample encouragement.
On the defensive side, Signor was livid with his team’s inability to stop Monadnock’s Kevin Putnam. The guard was the Huskies’ go-to option in the clutch and scored a critical layup to tie the game at 40 with 56 seconds to play.
With the game tied at 40, the Hawks’ free-throw shooting again fell short. With a chance to go up by two, guard Will Tanuvasa could only sink one after drawing a foul. A quick basket from Putnam left the home team down one with 10 seconds left on the clock. As time expired Quinn Whitehead tossed up a layup and it hit off the bottom of the rim, sealing the Hawks’ loss.
The Monadnock fans who had adhered to the signs asking for quiet on free throws could no longer hold themselves back. Cheers and jeers echoed around the gym as Whitehead stepped to the line with zeroes on the clock. His first shot hit the rim and bounced out. His second found nothing but air.
Signor made sure not to single out Whitehead after the game. He said the team needed to hit their free throws down the stretch to avoid a high-pressure situation like that. As to what needs to change?
“I told this entire team,” said Signor. “Somebody needs to find a way to command the floor when the game’s on the line. Because four games out of the last five we were up in the last two minutes, and we faltered. We did. Not them. Somebody needs to command the floor and I don’t have anybody right now.”
The Hawks now sit at third in Division III with a record of 11-2.