The mountain was just too high.
After taking out the second and third seeded teams back-to-back, the King Philip Warriors were unable to topple the number-one seeded Hopkinton Hillers, losing 69-60 in overtime.
After King Philip led comfortably for two and a half quarters, Hopkinton exploded for a 14-2 run to end the third quarter, putting the Hillers up 37-36. After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, the Warriors were able to stop the Hillers on the final possession to force overtime.
In overtime, however, the Warriors only managed one field goal and continually turned the ball over.
"I think our guys played their hearts out today," King Philip head coach Sean McInnis said. "I can't take anything away from them. Everybody that checked on the court for us did a good job."
Jake Layman finished the game with 24 points, including all eight of KP's points in overtime. The junior also finished with 13 rebounds, seven blocks, and two assists.
"He did a very good all-around job," McInnis said of Jake Layman's game.
Hopkinton relied on a trio of scorers that included Barrett Hanlon (18 points), Wesley Ericksen (17 points) and Jake Doucette (16 points) to pace their offense. Hanlon scored 12 of his 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“Barrett was phenomenal,” Hopkinton head coach Tom Keane said. “He took over the ball, handling the basketball. He was phenomenal [at] reading passing lanes. We put the ball in his hands for the whole last part of the game and he stepped up again. He’s a wonderful kid, he did a wonderful job.”
The turning point came in the third quarter, when Warrior senior guard Harry Washington picked up his fourth foul, forcing McInnis to take him out. Without their general on the floor, the Warriors were unable to maintain control of the ball.
“Harry’s fourth foul,” McInnis said when asked what changed in the third quarter. “Harry picking up that fourth foul really changed the whole situation. And Jake was extremely tired, we had to take him out there for a little bit.”
KP’s Connor Layman finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal, but was unable to play late in the fourth quarter and in overtime after injuring his left wrist while drawing a charge. McInnis said Connor Layman would be going to the hospital.
In the beginning, the Warriors jumped out to a big lead and at one point in the second quarter were up 15 points.
“We got the balls where we wanted to,” McInnis said. “A lot of guys stepped up and defensively we really did a nice job.”
One of the biggest role players to step up for King Philip was junior guard Christian Fair. Fair finished with 9 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds. It was Fair who tied the game at 52 late in the fourth quarter.
Though Washington only finished with five points, it was clear how important he was to his team. Without him in the third quarter, and then again after he fouled out in the fourth, the team failed to execute offensively. Washington was also one of the best defenders on the floor, limiting Hanlon and Ericksen until his foul trouble.
“Once we lost Harry, that really set the tempo,” McInnis added.
King Philip will lose five seniors to graduation: Connor Layman, Alec May, Joey Akrouche, Tim Sheehan (2 points), and Harry Washington.