Men's basketball pulls upset against (No.19) Harcum College

Story by Wornden Ly

Hagerstown,Md—Both teams started on the same even playing field; 0-0 with 20 minutes on the clock in the first half of the game. 

Records, national rankings, last game, next game, it does not matter. What mattered was playing the best of the team's ability. The better team at that moment would win the game. 

On Feb. 5, Hagerstown Community College men's basketball team won their home game against Harcum College with a score of 91-82. 

The Hawks had now become 9-13 overall after the game and became the third team to defeat Harcum College. 

Harcum College, 22-3, was ranked 19th on the National Junior College Athletic Association polls. 

Tyrin Hollis scored 21 points for the Hawks. Rodney Black scored 20 points along with 8 rebounds and 6 defensive rebounds.

Raphael Castillo also scored 15 points along with 4 rebounds and 4 defensive rebounds.

The Hawks once again proved that teamwork and trust in each other was the key in winning this game.

Game recap: 

At the beginning of the game, the momentum shifted towards Harcum College as they were ahead early in the game, making plenty of three-pointers. However, the Hawks stepped up and played more aggressive defense to stop Harcum College's momentum and made several three-pointers themselves, leading 33-29 before the first official timeout.  However, towards the end of the first half of the game, fatigue settled in from the Hawks as they began missing shots. This helped Harcum College gain momentum back as they were behind by two points, 43-41, at the end of the first half. 

In the second half of the game, Harcum College had switched to two-on-one defense when the Hawks had to move the ball down to score, especially to stop number two Hollins.  Despite the strong defense from Harcum College, the Hawks were able to move the ball up and down the court, showing great offense, defense, and ball movement to take over the momentum of the game. With 11:33 on the clock, the Hawks were leading the game 76-61. 

The crowd from the stands were cheering louder as the Hawks made shot after shot. Teammates were leading the "Defense" cheer and supporting each other during the game. Eventually, with 4:16 on the clock, the Hawks were leading 71-66 after a few errors and failed big plays built up. 

Harcum College made one final push, but the Hawks were able to stop them with the final score 91-82. 

"We played together and stayed together," said head coach Bernard Hopkins. "It was definitely a team win game and is not how you start, it's how you finish the race." 

The Hawks will play again away against Harford Community College on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. 

Assistant coach Ben Schlotter said, " We are starting to see the potential in this team and we are confident we can still accomplish what we set out to this season."

Herald-Mail Media story on men's game by Sports Correspondent Brayden Leather