Mt. Hermon falls to Hannan
Published 8:51 am Friday, January 23, 2015
Mt. Hermon trailed, 24-14, at halftime, and made runs in the second half, but fell to Archbishop Hannan, 55-36, in District 8-2A play Tuesday on the road.
The Hawks scored first in the second half on a pair of free throws by Patrick Bossetta to make it 26-16.
Mt. Hermon then made a run.
Jessie Pouncey, who scored 19 points to lead Mt. Hermon, was good on a pair from the line. A steal by Corterio Williams led to a Pouncey bucket after he grabbed an offensive rebound. James Roberts connected for two more and the Yellow Jackets, were back in it, trailing just 26-20 at the 4:04 mark.
But Hannan responded 21 seconds later, with Noah Griffin hitting a field goal, upping the lead to 28-20.
That happened again later in the period. Mt. Hermon would make a run to get back in, but Hannan hit a shot to extend the lead to three possessions.
“They’ve got good shooters,” Mt. Hermon coach B. Alford said. “They were poised. Every time we made a run, they would answer us.”
After Griffin’s field goal, Hannan extended the advantage to 30-21 with 2:58 left when Mt. Hermon made another run.
The Yellow Jackets scored four in a row, as Pouncey found Williams for a fast-break layup.
Then Williams, who had 10, connected with Joseph Magee for two more, and the Yellow Jackets were back within two possessions at 30-25 with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter.
But Hannan’s Matt Bennett, who had 13, had the answer this time. He pushed the lead out to eight with a three, and the Hawks were up, 33-25, at the 1:51 mark.
Pouncey hit a free throw, but Mt. Hermon made it a 10-point margin once again with the quarter’s last three points. Ross Murray hit a free throw, and Daniel Hollander was good on a free throw. Hannan’s lead was 36-26 after three.
The Hawks began to put the game away at the outset of the fourth quarter. Adam Kiesel opened the period with a 2-pointer. Then Griffin drove in for two to make it 40-26.
Pouncey hit a shot, got fouled and converted the 3-point play, to help keep the Jackets in it at 40-29.
But Hannan scored five unanswered. Griffin split from the line before Bennett was good on two free throws and a baseline jumper. Hannan led, 45-29, with 5:25 remaining.
Mt. Hermon could get no closer than 45-31 after that in the 55-36 loss.
Also for the Yellow Jackets, Roberts had four points while Magee added three.
Griffin scored 22 points for Hannan while Hollander posted seven for Hannan.
Murray finished with five, Bossetta had four, and Nick Daniel and Patrick Donnelly both added two.
Mt. Hermon fell to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in district play. Hannan improves to 15-5 overall and 3-0 in league play.