The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Hamilton surges past Copenhagen
HAMILTON, N.Y. » No. 5 Hamilton could not quite shake No. 12 Copenhagen in the opening round of Section III Class D playoffs on Friday.
Though Tom Blackford’s Emerald Knights led throughout the contest, upset-minded Copenhagen stayed within reach and tied the ballgame at 29-29 midway through the third quarter.
Seemingly all at once, Hamilton’s vaunted 1-3-1 zone tightened, and the Emerald Knights tore off a 26-7 run to put Copen- hagen away, 55-37.
Hamilton sophomore Sean Hunt poured in 24 points, 16 coming in the first half, to lead all scorers. Teammate Trevor Dow added 17 points and collected six steals, hounding Copenhagen defenders at the top of the 1-3-1.
Cody Buckley led the way for Copenhagen with 14 points, followed by teammate Keegan Morrow’s 13.
Both Blackford and his Copenhagen counterpart Logan Spaulding attributed Hamilton’s success on the evening to the Emerald Knight defense.
“The difference in the second half was that we got aggressive on the defensive end, and our defense is built to get turnovers, to get extra-possessions and runouts. In the first half, they were making direct passes against our defense, and we did not get any deflections or steals,” Blackford said. “Third quarter, we got more aggressive. We got better traps on our 1-3-1, and as a result, we got some run-outs. When Trevor Dow is in the open court, which he did a lot in the second half, he is unstoppable going in with that left hand.”
Spaulding echoed that sentiment.
“The difference was their 1-3-1.
When they extend it out, it’s difficult because they are so lanky. Once they got up by 14 that was really a punch in the gut. It was hard to bounce back from that.”
Hunt scored nine of Hamilton’s 11-point first quarter total to help the Emerald Knights out to an 11- 6 first quarter lead as both teams searched for offensive production.
Hunt’s torrid start continued in the second frame. The sophomore secured an offensive rebound for a putback in traffic before coming up with a steal and the lay-in on the ensuing Copenhagen possession to give the hosts a 20-13 lead with two minutes to go in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Buckley and Keegan pulled Copenhagen within a point, but Hamilton closed the half with a long-range shot of its own. Hunt took a handoff from Dow at the top of the arc, losing his defender in the process, and buried a three to give Hamilton a 23-9 edge heading into the break.
“Sean really saved us tonight. He missed the first five games to injury and came back for the next six but was not really 100-percent, but in the last six, seven games of the season, he’s been consistent. He can score in transition, he can hit 3’s, and he defends well, too,” Blackford said. “I was very happy with his performance.”
Hamilton pushed its lead in opening moments of the third, going up 29-22 on a Tarik Cigeroglu offensive rebound and put-back. Copenhagen rallied to tie the game at 29 on a Buckley long-ball before Hamilton made its run.
Hunt grabbed an offensive board and dished a pass to Griffin Rose for an easy hoop and a 31-29 lead with 3:45 remaining in the third. On Hamilton’s next score, Hunt received a pass from older brother Ryan for a layin to force a Copenhagen timeout. Ryan Rutledge continued the Emerald Knight attack next, hitting a floater in the lane for a 35-29 advantage. After a Buckley layup for Copenhagen, Dow found Sean Hunt open for a corner 3-pointer and a 38- 31 lead. Following an empty Copenhagen trip to the foul line, Dow splashed home a shot from deep, adding two more points seconds later off a steal and lay-in with a 1:20 left in the third for a 43-31 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Dow came upwith back-toback steals in under a minute, taking the first one to the hole to convert an and-1 play and netting a lay-in on the second for a 51-34 with under five minutes left in the contest. Copenhagen was able to muster just three points the rest of the way, and Hamilton secured a 55-37 win in front of packed home crowd.
Blackford, accustomed to such crowds and the electric atmosphere that comes with playoff tilts during his storied tenure, attributed the slow start to nerves.
“This is the second year that we made the playoffs, and these guys do not have a lot of playoff experience. They are not used to being in the playoffs; now we are,” he said. “We were nervous, but third quarter and fourth quarter we started picking it up, playing like we had. The whole key in playoffs is to play like you have all season long.”
With the win over Copenhagen, the Emerald Knights will have the opportunity to add to their playoff resume on Tuesday in a No. 4 - No. 5 quarterfinal contest at McGraw.