After solidifying their spot as the Division III frontrunner, the Mt. Hope varsity boys’ basketball team held their own against North Smithfield High School in their quarterfinal playoff game. The Huskies beat the #8 ranked Northmen with a final score of 56-41 at their home court on Tuesday evening.

Prior to their quarterfinal matchup, the Huskies held a 9-1 record at home, losing only to the Northmen upon their previous meetup this season. When Mt. Hope played North Smithfield at home on Feb. 3, they lost 47-44, which put an additional layer of pressure on the players this time around. However, the Huskies were hungry and ready for revenge.

“I think that loss helped us,” said Head Coach Jeff Grifka. “I keep saying to people, sometimes losses at a certain point in the season, help a team. What we did, we really looked inside to see what we need to do so that it doesn’t happen again. As a team that has been playing well together, you’re going to have some hiccups.”

“We weren’t prepared for that team the last time we played them,” Grifka said. “This time, we knew who their outside threats were. We knew who could hit the threes on the outside, and when they got in there, we had to shade towards their area. We knew our zone was going to compact them, because they had some big guys that were tough to handle down there, and for us to be able to tighten it up and be able to get into those passing lanes really helped us.”

Seniors Bruce McGuire, Josh DeWolf and Rick Julien showed their strength in the first quarter, with juniors Gavin Winn and Parker Camelo rounding out the starting five.

Camelo started off strong with a quick three points, which allowed the Huskies to take control early on. Mt. Hope dominated the court in the first few minutes, pulling ahead 9-0. The teams were tied with 9 points each at the 3:00 minute mark, but Camelo sank a three point shot to pull ahead. Julien was able to put up major points in the paint, with Mt. Hope taking advantage of rebound capabilities. Their 2-3 zone defense denied the Northmen access to the ball under the basket. The Huskies led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter.

“We worked and banged around in practice and created the opportunities for us to get underneath them, and for us to get those rebounds when we needed to,” said Grifka.

Mt. Hope capitalized on many North Smithfield turnovers in the second quarter, with McGuire hitting a major 3-point shot. The Huskies succeeded immensely in their offensive rebounding, but the momentum soon shifted. With a little over two minutes left, two turnovers that North Smithfield converted into layups had created space for the Northmen to gain six.

A crucial three-point shot by DeWolf at the end of the second quarter allowed for the Huskies to lead going into the locker room, up 27-20 at the half.

“Our players are really confident, in a sense where they know how to execute and they know how to play together,” said Grifka. “They’ve been playing that way all year, and for me, that speaks volumes for what they can do on the court and really translates from practice right into the game. We saw that today, they worked very hard. And having that home court advantage, that’s quite an advantage when it comes down to it, because it really helps.”

At the start of the third quarter, the Huskies took advantage of three North Smithfield turnovers. Strategic ball movement as a team had tired out the defense, creating an opportunity for DeWolf to make an aggressive 3-point bucket. Senior Faceson Hicks made one of two foul shots, before putting up another layup for the Huskies.

With under a minute left in the third, Hicks made a 3-point shot to maximize the lead. Julien’s pass to McGuire created a hole in the Northmen defense, allowing for another two-points. Overall, McGuire contributed 19 points to the Mt. Hope win as the top scorer.

North Smithfield senior Dave Doherty made a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the Northmen could not catch up, with the Huskies in the lead 45-30 at the end of the third.

Mt. Hope kept the intensity towards the very end of the fourth, making the most of their lead and enforcing stops to run down the clock. The crowd erupted into cheers as the home team celebrated their quarterfinal victory at the center of the court.

“We put in a lot of time and effort, and these kids put in a lot of time and effort, and at the end of the day, we were able to execute this time,” Grifka remarked.

For their upcoming semifinal game, the Huskies will be playing the winner of the Feb. 23 matchup between #4 ranked Moses Brown School and #5 ranked Davies Career-Tech High School.

“Our strategy kind of depends on who we’re playing,” said Grifka. “Both of those teams play totally different basketball. One is a little more predicated upon getting to the paint, and the other one shoots from outside. For the most part, it all depends on who we’re playing, and that’s how we’ll be able to prepare.”