The No. 6 Hermon Hawks exploded for 24 third-quarter points in their 47-28 win over No. 11 Washington Academy on Wednesday night in Hermon, punching their ticket to the Class B North regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2019-20.
A chess match between the Raiders’ 2-3 zone and the Hawks’ patient style of offense, Washington Academy led just 15-11 at halftime, paced by 12 points from sophomore guard Clay Crosman and six offensive rebounds as a team.
Coming out of halftime, the Hawks found their confidence and let the shots fly, drilling three 3-pointers, a long 2-pointer and a layup through contact in just four minutes. By the end of the third quarter, the Hawks had taken a 35-19 lead, with sophomore guard Mason Kinney having scored nine, sophomore forward Brody Hurd eight and junior center Maddox Kinney five in the quarter alone.
“We knew the zone was gonna give us a little bit of trouble — [plus] the atmosphere and the nerves,” 16-year Hermon head coach Larry Reed said. “The basket can be a little small when you’re standing looking at a big zone, but the kids responded really well in the second half. We told them, ‘You can’t be afraid of the moment. You have to go take it and make it happen,’ and they heard the message — the crowd and the community was electric tonight, that was a big part of it too.”
Hurd and junior forward Bryce Edwards ended up being Hermon’s leading scorers, with 13 points apiece. Maddox Kinney finished with eight points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals; younger brother Mason finished with nine points and two steals.
Crosman of Washington Academy finished with 17 points (three 3-pointers), and senior guard Donnie Marzoll finished with five (one 3-pointer). Prior to Wednesday night’s preliminary game, Hermon (11-8) had swept the season series against Washington Academy (8-11), beating the Raiders 32-26 on Dec. 23, and 40-38 on Jan. 9.
Next up, the Hawks will play the opening quarterfinal game at the Cross Center on Friday at 4 p.m., against the No. 3 Old Town Coyotes (15-3). The Hawks have lost to the Coyotes twice this year, but played them to a 43-40 loss in their most recent meeting on Jan. 11.
“They’ve got a very good team, but nobody picked David either, and the giant fell. For us, it’s about being who we are, not making the moment bigger than it is and realize it’s the game of basketball,” Reed said. “You just gotta go execute, try the best you can and whatever happens, happens. But you gotta go compete.”