Hawks, Eagles to play for first place and a great cause

Matt Metcalf
Posted 2/5/15

There was supposed to be a game between Bishop Hendricken and Barrington – the top two teams in the state – on Monday night at Pepin Gymnasium, but it never happened.

Instead, the game will …

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Hawks, Eagles to play for first place and a great cause

Posted

There was supposed to be a game between Bishop Hendricken and Barrington – the top two teams in the state – on Monday night at Pepin Gymnasium, but it never happened.

Instead, the game will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Brown University.

From an outside perspective, one may think that the game was moved to showcase Brown-commit and Barrington standout, Corey Daugherty.

But although Daugherty did have something to do with the game being moved, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In September, Daugherty sent an email to Hendricken head coach Jamal Gomes, asking about the possibility of moving the game to showcase Hendricken and Barrington’s unified basketball teams through Special Olympics Rhode Island.

Daugherty is involved as a volunteer, particularly with the unified teams at Barrington.

When Gomes got the email, he was all in for the idea.

“I was very impressed, so I said ‘let’s give it a shot,’” Gomes said. “Any time a player reaches out like that, you have to go with it. I was tremendously impressed.”

After Daugherty and his athletic director, George Finn, conversed regarding the potential of this happening, they came up with a few possible venues.

It turned out that Brown had an opening and was willing to host the game.

Not only will the Eagles and Hawks battle it out for first place on Sunday, but their unified teams will play a 10-minute exhibition at halftime, with an awards ceremony to follow.

Admission will be five dollars and all proceeds will go towards the Project Unify program of Special Olympics Rhode Island.

“It should be a great afternoon,” Gomes said.

Hawks will look to hand Eagles first loss

Barrington went 17-1 in Division II last season, but I don’t know if even the Eagles would’ve projected the success that they’re having this season is Division I.

Barrington has taken the state by storm this season, as it currently sits alone atop the D-I standings with an unblemished 9-0 record.

After all, Barrington was a good team in D-II prior to last season, but to come this far in two years is impressive.

Players like Daugherty certainly contribute to a program’s rapid ascension, but Gomes believes that it’s Barrington’s balance that has allowed them to be so successful.

“Daugherty’s a very good guard who can score,” Gomes said. “But they also have big guys and role players. Whenever you have that type of balance, you’re going to be a dangerous team.”

Daugherty is second to only Cranston East point guard Jessy Taveras in D-I scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. He is also second in the state in three-point field goals, making 43 on the season.

Hendricken has also relied on a balanced attack. Its leading scorer is sophomore Justin Mazzulla, who averages just 14 points per game.

The Hawks have also gotten major contributions from senior forward Ira Lough and point guard Kyle Henseler.

Gomes feels that it should be a great match-up and believes that this game will serve as preparation for what really matters.

“For both of our teams, I think it’ll be a great tune-up for the playoffs,” Gomes said.

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