Hingham boys hand Wareham first loss

WAREHAM — Wareham has played in several close encounters en route to its best start under fifth-year coach Steve Faniel.

But locked in another tight battle, Hingham made sure the No. 18 Vikings didn’t come away from this one unscathed.

Hingham handed Wareham its first loss of the season by closing the contest with a 10-1 run to claim a 55-52 nonleague road win Sunday.

“We were going to have take their punches and give it back and we did that,” said Hingham coach Bob Kniffen. “But at the end, we kept our composure, stayed poised and got it done.”

Wareham (7-1), sparked by 11 second-half points from Joey Silvia, took control midway through the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to lead, 51-45, but Hingham (7-3) had the final answer.

A pair of free throws from Jack McBride got the Harbormen within a point before Thomas Koenen scored in the paint to put Hingham in front, 52-51, with 1:01 left.

Koenen, who netted half of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, finished through contact for another key bucket in the final seconds as the senior forward along with McBride (12 points) were vital contributors off the bench.

“Having guys like that to go to on the bench definitely helps us especially in the face of runs like that,” Kniffen said. “When we do go to the bench, we’re not going to drop off at all.”

Hingham endured a heart-throbbing sequence when Destine Haywood was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with Wareham down three with 1.6 seconds left, but the first free throw rimmed out to end the threat.

After trailing by as much as eight in the second half, Hingham began the fourth quarter with another critical run.

The Harbormen, who scored just seven third-quarter points, went on a 10-0 spurt over the first 2:09 of the final frame to take their largest lead, 45-40.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Nk7ZYe