Hawks get lift from unlikely source in comeback win

Matt Metcalf, Assistant Sports Editor
Posted 1/20/15

The Bishop Hendricken basketball team remained undefeated on Friday night with a 55-49 win over Classical, but it trailed for a majority of the game.

Thanks in large part to a balanced scoring …

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Hawks get lift from unlikely source in comeback win

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The Bishop Hendricken basketball team remained undefeated on Friday night with a 55-49 win over Classical, but it trailed for a majority of the game.

Thanks in large part to a balanced scoring attack, the Hawks were able to keep a zero in their loss column, getting some key contributions from some likely sources and an unlikely source.

Senior Adam Lavallee didn’t make the freshmen team as a freshman, nor the junior varsity team as a sophomore. Additionally, he was one of the last players taken for the JV team as a junior, and worked his way onto the varsity team this season.

On Friday night, as head coach Jamal Gomes was looking for a spark from his bench trailing by two with five minutes remaining, he went to Lavallee, who’s seen minimal time thus far during his senior year.

And, in unlikely fashion, Lavallee ended up being the star of the game and he may be the reason why the Hawks are still undefeated in Division I.

Making his way into the game midway through the second half, Lavallee registered his first points on a layup off of a nice look from point guard Kyle Henseler to give the Hawks a 39-36 lead.

Lavallee continued his solid play to spark a 9-0 run for the Hawks, scoring five points and taking a key charge over a span of two and a half minutes to help put the game out of reach for Classical.

“That just shows you the heart that he brings to the game,” Gomes said of Lavallee’s performance. “Without him, we don’t win that game tonight.”

His performance gave not only the guys on the floor a boost, but everyone on the bench, as well.

“What I liked was that our guys were excited for him,” Gomes said. “It was a great game by Adam.”

The Hawks did get a boost from some other well-known names too.

Senior Ira Lough and sophomore standout Justin Mazzulla each hit a pair of free throws during the Hawks’ 9-0 run down the stretch, in addition to Lavallee’s five points.

Lough was Hendricken’s high-scorer in the first half with seven points, en route to scoring 11 for the game.

Classical threw some different looks at Mazzulla in the first half, trying to get him off of his game, and it succeeded. Mazzulla scored just three points in the first half, while getting into foul trouble.

Mazzulla answered the bell when it mattered the most, however, scoring nine points in the second half to end the game with 12 – a game-high.

It was truly a full team-effort for the Hawks. Despite struggling in the first half, the Hawks were able to grind out a win, even with no one lighting-up the score sheet.

In addition to Mazzula’s 12 and Lough’s 11, Dan Flaherty scored nine, while Lavallee and Henseler had seven apiece and Dimitri Rosa scored five.

The Hawks will get some much-needed size and depth with the additions of transfers Alex Dickerman, Trevor Lawton and Elijah Brown next week, which should make the defending champions even tougher than they are now.

But it looks like Gomes may have found another depth player in Lavallee.

A player who just may’ve preserved the Hawks’ perfect season.

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