Cool hand Luke lifts Hingham

WHITMAN – For Luke Mashburn, his first career varsity start for Hingham took a dramatic turn that he didn’t even see coming.

After a slow start, the 6-foot-4 senior guard served as the catalyst to help the Harbormen overcome a 13-point halftime deficit against Patriot League rival Whitman-Hanson Friday night, as Mashburn netted 23 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, including hitting the game-winning shot with 14 seconds left, to lift Hingham to a thrilling 64-62 season-opening road win.

“Things opened up for him and he was feeling it,” said Hingham coach Bob Kniffen. “It was definitely the difference maker.”

Mashburn’s sensational performance hit its peak when Hingham (1-0) needed it the most in the fourth quarter.

Entering the final frame trailing by eight, Mashburn went on a personal 10-2 run to begin the stanza to even the score before Will O’Connell’s jumper gave the Harbormen their first lead, 54-52, since the opening two minutes of the contest.

Hingham’s advantage grew to 62-57, courtesy of a 3-pointer from Mashburn and an old-fashioned 3-point play from Nick Lynch, with 1:51 remaining, but Whitman-Hanson (0-1) battled back with Cole Levangie (13 points) scoring twice from within close and Nate Amado (team-high 17 points) sinking a free throw to pull the Panthers level just over a minute later.

That set the stage for Mashburn as he bailed out Hingham on a critical possession when he received the ball from behind the arc on the left wing with three seconds left on the shot clock.

With little time to operate, Mashburn took a couple dribbles before leaning far to his left and banking in the deciding basket as the shot clock buzzer went off.

“I didn’t hear shot clock, but I heard three and just got to the hoop as much as I could and put it up,” Mashburn said. “I had a feeling it was going bank and that’s what happened.”

Hingham then got the requisite stop it needed to secure the win as Whitman-Hanson’s 3-pointer as time expired was off the mark.

The Panthers, which returned all five starters from last year’s squad, had built a 36-23 halftime lead behind their balanced offense as Ben Rice (11 points) joined Levangie and Amado in double figures. But Whitman-Hanson went cold from distance, especially in the fourth quarter as it missed its final seven 3-point attempts and finished 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

Hingham doesn’t have nearly the same type of experience as the Panthers – all five of its starters were making their first career starts – but the Harbormen learned quickly, showcasing their poise throughout the second half.

“For us it was so many firsts,” Kniffen said. “It just speaks a lot about how those guys compete and how those guys battle. It was special for them because they didn’t give in to runs Whitman-Hanson was putting on and even down the stretch, they stepped up big.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/36CMdpZ