This Week In the Hanson Express

Three’s company for boys basketball

Written by Dave Palana

Tuesday, 22 December 2009 16:29

The North Quincy Red Raiders have one of the best interior players in the Patriot League, so T.J. Champignie and Eric Johnson beat them from behind the arc. The senior duo combined for nine three pointers and 43 points to lead the boys basketball to a 66-63 win at North Quincy on Friday. “[They] put on a shooting clinic from behind the arc,” head coach Bob Rodgers said. “North Quincy is always a tough place to play. Our guys showed a great deal of composure in this game to pull it out.” Champignie led the team with 23 points, and hit four free throws in the last 1:30 of the fourth quarter to keep the Panthers ahead. Johnson provided an early spark off the bench for the Panthers, scoring 11 straight points in the first half to prevent North Quincy from running away with the game early. “Eric is a great story,” Rodgers said. “He didn’t make the team as a freshman or sophomore, but kept working on it and refused to give up. Now he has emerged as not only one of our best players, but also one of the best players in our league. It looked like we were letting it slip away falling behind by double digits, but then he ripped off those 11 straight points and we had some momentum.” The solid outside shooting took some off the pressure of the Panther big men, who had their hands full with Red Raider center Mike Stanton. “North Quincy provided quite a challenge for us with their inside play,” Rodgers said. “Jason Vancura and John Hardiman did a good job with the toughest post player in our league. We hope that the experience will make them better moving forward.” The Raiders took the momentum early, but Johnson’s 11 straight points brought Whitman-Hanson back and prevented an early blowout. After the Panthers got back into the game, the teams swapped leads until the final minutes of the third quarter, when Tim Farrell’s two foul shots gave Whitman-Hanson a 55-53 lead. The Panthers clung to the lead for the rest of the game by sinking clutch shots and only missing two free throws. “We hit some key free throws down the stretch,” Rodgers said. “Some guys hit some pressure shots when we needed it the most.” The Panthers also got a good game out of point guard Josh Hansen. Hansen took over the point this year after Ryan Benton and James Hunter split the duty last year and scored five points with seven assists and only turned the ball over once. “He is doing a great job playing within himself and not trying to do too much. He seems to get better every day.” Rodgers said. The Panthers play their final game before the holiday break on Dec. 23 against Duxbury. After their annual trip to Key West, Fla., they will return to league play on Jan. 5 at Hingham.

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