The Varsity Basketball team forms a huddle around Coach Keene while he discusses the strategies to win the game.
Photo by Maritza Gamboa.

By Maritza Gamboa
On Friday, December 11, the Hopkinton Varsity Boys’ Basketball team started its season strong with a victory over Norton. Hopkinton won with a final score of 65 to 53. With a win to start off the season, the Boys’ Basketball team now has a taste of victory and is determined to go far.

This year, the Varsity team lost five key players, including Mark Masucci. Mark’s younger brother, Max, a junior, is one of the new captains. Seniors Luke Haroian and Timmy Dlugolecki are also captains.

Senior Josh Laurence is a returning player this year. Laurence prepared for the new season by playing basketball all year at the High School’s gym and outdoor courts. Laurence plays the guard position and down low, under the hoop. Laurence comments, “My personal goal for the season is to add whatever aspects I can to the team to make us better in any way possible. The team’s goal this year is to win games and learn to play better as a team.”

There are seven new players on the team this year. In total, there are nine juniors and three seniors. This group of boys is one of the smallest in the TVL, but they hope their speed, swiftness, and enthusiasm will give them the edge they need. Coach Tom Keane, the returning Varsity coach, explained that the most important thing to prepare for this season is conditioning and making sure the team consistently plays strong defense. The team’s focus is once again to conquer the TVL. Coach Keane remarks, “The TVL will be as tough as it is every year.  Again this year, there will be a tremendous amount of parody.  My guess would be that Medfield will be the front runner as it usually is.  Medway and Millis look good, too, but you never know what teams will emerge.”

With a new starting line, the Hillers put up a fight, keeping a strong lead over Norton throughout the entire game. Junior Will Relle played an impressive game, scoring many points for the Hillers. Josh Laurence took one for the team when a Norton player trampled him in an attempt to score a basket. Tommy Hennigan shot two three-pointers and Max Masucci shot four three-pointers.

Junior Tommy Hennigan commented about Friday’s game, “I think we played tough and forced a lot of turnovers that lead to us being able to score in transition. We need to play better in order to keep up with some of the best teams in the league.”

Coach Keane commented, “In Friday’s game, I thought we played very hard.  For the most part, I was pleased with how we moved the ball on offense.  We shot well from three-point range and the foul line.  Defensively, our level of concentration ebbed and flowed.  Sometimes we were really locked in on what our assignments were, and at other times we were not as focused.  Things we need to work on are maintaining defensive intensity, getting out and running the floor more effectively, and rebounding better.”

The Varsity Boys’ Basketball team has a tough and exciting season ahead of them. The team hopes its effort, time, and practice will pay off. For the team’s roaster and schedule, click here.