Friday Night Matchup of the Week: Hopkinton Boys host Medway Boys, Hopkinton Girls are at Medway Girls!

By: Tom Nappi

Girls Basketball: Hopkinton (6-2) @ Medway (6-2) 6:30pm

On Friday January 12th, one of the top teams in the TVL Large, Hopkinton Hillers meet up with one of the top teams in the TVL Small, Medway Mustangs.

The Hopkinton Hillers are currently on a 5 game winning streak and fresh off a dominant 42-28 win at home last Tuesday night over now 6 and 2 Dover-Sherborn. The win was a solid team effort for the Hillers which featured 6 different point-scorers. Sofiah Wightman-Kraus recorded a team-leading 6 points while Bethel Flanagan contributed 5 points and Holly Paharik added 4 points. The Hillers dominated the low post and featured an aggressive defense that created many turnovers and shut the Blue-Raiders down in the low-post. Dover-Sherborn struggled to find answers for the Hiller defense and only tallied 11 points for the entirety of the 2nd half.

The Lady-Hillers started off the season with a win over Ashland but followed up with 2 straight losses to Norwood and Medfield. Since starting 1-2, the Hillers have won 5 straight and now stand at 6-2. Wins during the impressive streak include wins over Westboro (3-4), Milford (3-7), Holliston (4-4), Westwood (2-6) and Dover-Sherborn (6-2).

Medway has won 3 of their last 4 games and look to get back in the win-column following a 38-60 loss versus a very tough Medfield team. Prior to the loss versus Medfield (7-1), Medway defeated North Attleboro (3-6), Bellingham (2-7) and Millis (5-4).

Medway Girls have dominated this TVL rivalry and won the last 6 meetings versus Hopkinton and look to keep the streak going.

This season so far, Hopkinton averages 39.5 PPG and gives up and average of 34 PPG, Medway averages 47 PPG and gives up 39 PPG defensively. Despite the Medway Girls winning the last 6 games versus Hopkinton, most of the games had a close result and this Friday will likely not be much different as both teams are experienced, extremely well coached and hungry for a win.

Congratulations to Medway Girls Basketball Coach, Joe Iannone who recently captured his 200th career win.

Tip-off is at 6:30pm at Kevin P. Clark Gymnasium in Medway High School.

Boys Basketball: Medway (4-4) @ Hopkinton (5-2) 6:30pm

The Medway and Hopkinton Boys teams meet up at the Hopkinton High School Athletic Center on Friday Night at 6:30pm! If you can’t make it, you can catch the live broadcast of the game on HCAM (Live Stream Here!)

The Hiller Boys are one of the top scoring teams in the TVL and have won their last 3 games. In the last 3, they captured an 81-47 road-win over Holliston (0-8), handed Westwood (7-1) their 1st loss of the season with a 67-59 win and defeated Dover-Sherborn (5-4) on the road 69-55. In the win over previously undefeated Westwood, Sam Dadagian tallied a team-leading 18 points for the Hillers.

In the Hillers Tuesday win over Dover-Sherborn, Jack Ianelli led the way with a team-leading 15 points, Sam Pantera had 14 points and Cooper Willadsen tallied 11 points.

Medway has battled hard and ended up with a close result in nearly every game but are looking to get a big win after losing 4 of their last 5 games. Medway was cursed with a tough schedule over the last couple of weeks but is a team led by great coaching & talent and expected to battle back into the race for the TVL Small title. Medway’s last 5 games, VS Nantucket (5-3) L 52-58, @ Milford (5-3) L 58-65, @ Bellingham (5-4) W 53-41, VS Millis (4-4) L 45-46, @ Medfield (5-2) L 40-58.

This season so far, Hopkinton averages 70 PPG and gives up an average of 60 PPG, Medway averages 54 PPG and gives up 52 PPG defensively. Hopkinton and Medway have won 3 each out of their last 6 meetings and Friday night should be another close back and forth battle between 2 of the best basketball programs in the TVL!