HCC flips the script on Montgomery

Heading into Monday night's men's basketball matchup, Hagerstown Community College and Montgomery College were going in opposite directions.

The Hawks entered the contest on a four-game losing streak, while the Raptors were winners of their last five.

Despite the recent results, Hagerstown rose to the occasion and pulled out a crucial 70-61 Maryland JUCO victory.

"Lately, we haven't been coming to play," said HCC coach Bernard Hopkins. "Our record doesn't show how good we are. I don't think there are many teams that think they can beat us."

Jamichael Smart had a game-high 29 points, along with 10 rebounds and four assists, to lead the Hawks (9-14, 6-7). Ke'Sean Robinson had eight points, five assists and three steals, and James Moore had eight points and five rebounds.

"This was probably our most complete game," said Hopkins. "We played 37-38 minutes complete, where normally we had been playing 25 minutes complete with a 10-minute spurt that hurt.

"This is a big win. ... That was a good team and they'll probably play in the national tournament."

Montgomery (19-6, 9-4) entered averaging more than 85 points per game, with Collin Turner (29.7 ppg) leading the team. On Monday, Turner was held to just 16 as Montgomery tied its season low in points.

"Defensively we never stopped," said Hopkins. "If we can play defense like that ... it can be something special.

"(Turner) is a scorer, you're not gonna stop him from scoring. You just have to contain him and I felt like we did a good job at doing that."

The Hawks trailed 35-30 at halftime, with Smart notching 17 of the team's first 25 points and grabbing five offensive rebounds.

"Jamichael just played huge," said Hopkins. "He hit some big 3s, some from NBA range, and I don't think anyone in the league can guard him.

"When he sets his mind and commits to finishing, he's an animal."

After Elisha Arnold made a jumper to extend Montgomery's lead to 37-30 to start the second half, HCC went on a 6-0 run to pull within one.

A few minutes later, Smart and Theo Bradley Jr. had layups and Bryant Willis connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hawks a 49-42 lead.

Montgomery pulled back within four at 51-47 with a Freddie Harris layup, forcing an HCC timeout.

Following the timeout, Robinson knocked down a 3 and Malcom Moye had dunks on back-to-back possessions to put the Hawks up 58-47.

"They were making a run and bringing the game back, and I just told them to be patient," said Hopkins. "When you have an open shot, you have to take it and know you're gonna hit.

"Ke'Sean took the shot, then Malcom had the dunks and that was the momentum shift."

From that point, HCC struggled shooting as Montgomery clawed back within five at 62-57 with 2:50 remaining.

But like they've been all season, the Hawks were solid from the free-throw line, knocking down 8 of 10 in the final four minutes. On the day, HCC made 13 of 15 from the line.

"We made them play defense," said Hopkins. "We didn't have to take shots, just let them foul us and knock down the foul shots."

The victory moves HCC into eighth place in the conference standings with one league game remaining before the tournament starts Feb. 16.

"We know we're trying to make that top eight," said Hopkins. "So we're right there, we just need to win."

Credit to Herald Mail