HARWICH – Cape Tech’s Sean “Soup” Campbell is well-known for his trademark jumper in these parts, that is, of course when the senior shooting guard’s hand turns hot.
Well, Saturday afternoon at just the right time and when his team needed it most, Campbell turned on the afterburners and drilled the three most important shots of this season in the fourth quarter against a tough Cape Cod Academy team (9-8), and helped lead his Crusaders to a 55-51 upset over the guests.
Cape Tech senior Alonzo Johnson tears down the biggest rebound of the game on a missed shot with just seconds left and eliminated Cape Cod Academy’s hope to clinch a postseason berth – at least for the next 48 hours. Also pictured are Sean Campbell (13) Henry Zezze (23) and Josh Meservey.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
The last time these two clubs met on December 22, 2014, Cape Cod Academy decimated the Crusaders to the tune of a 75-31 rout.
Campbell had a team-high 15 points in this well-played, back-and-forth affair, a match-up that saw the Crusaders lead for most of the game until the fourth quarter when Seahawk senior co-captain Johnny Hatem put on quite a show of his own.
And that show began just as the third quarter was coming to a close.
Down 43-38 with the seconds flying off the clock at the end of the third, Hatem pulled up and buried a downtown bomb at the buzzer that found nothing but the bottom of the net and brought the visitors back to within two points of their hosts, 43-41.
And as soon as the fourth frame started, point guard Hatem saw a quick window of opportunity at the top of the arc and, uncontested, rained his first of three straight three pointers that gave the Academy boys a 47-43 lead and a chance to build on it.
But those chances soon were frittered away as the Seahawks would not sink another field goal for the rest of the game and the guests would end up shooting 3-15 in the game’s final frame.
Jackson Calle hit Tech’s first bucket to bring it back to a 47-45 deficit and then it was Campbell who turned on the water and made it rain.
He started with his own baseline bomb for the 48-47 recapture of the lead, then added on two critical mid-range jumpers to help seal the win.
On Cape Cod Academy’s final chance to knot things up with the score 53-51 in Tech’s favor and just 15.7 seconds left, Hatem pulled up on a mid-range jumper and it went in and out. More importantly, for the hosts, Crusader senior Alonzo Johnson somehow weaved through traffic and pulled down the rebound on Hatem’s missed jump shot and that finalized the win. It finalized it because it gave Cape Tech possession and forced the Seahawks to foul with Tech in the bonus from the line. Jackson Calle ensured the win by getting fouled at mid-court by Hatem and then going to the line and draining both shots for the 55-51 finale.
Cape Cod Academy’s Johnny Hatem blows by Cape Tech’s Sean Campbell in this afternoon’s 55-51 Cape Tech win.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
The Seahawks missed three fourth quarter freebies but that still would not have given them a chance to tie it as time dwindled away.
It was the 6-12 performance at the line throughout the game that likely cost the guests dearly and made it a waiting game once more to see if the Seahawks can clinch a postseason berth needing just one more victory. Cape Cod Academy has three games remaining on the season, starting Monday with a boat trip to Nantucket, then Sturgis East on Tuesday and Holbrook on Wednesday.
Hatem had a game-high 25 points to lead all scorers and senior co-captain and power forward Henry Zezze netted 14 points to go along with 21 rebounds for another in a long string of double-doubles.
The Seahawks went 19-61 from the floor on the afternoon.
Combined with Hatem’s five three-pointers, senior Jack Massari had a pair as well for six points.
Calle had 13 points to go along with Campbell’s 15 points and Meservey had 1 points.
Cape Tech also has three more games left but has been eliminated from postseason contention.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
Cape Cod Academy senior guard Jack Massari tries to steal the ball from Cape Tech’s Josh Meservey in Saturday afternoon’s 55-51 Crusaders’ upset.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
