Varsity Basketball tops North Kingstown

David Lynch ’22 highlights big night from Pepin Gym

By TJ Deneault ’22

WARWICK, RI (January 25, 2021) – Varsity Basketball faced the North Kingstown Skippers on Monday night with the Hawks edging out the Skippers, 64-59, behind a huge night from junior guard David Lynch ’22 who scored 14 of his game and career-high 26 points in the second half. Sophomore Azmar Abdullah ’23, who started for the Hawks, had eight points, including 2 three-pointers, one of which sparked a 15-5 run to open up the second half. 

Lynch also added 5 assists, and 7 of his 12 rebounds were when the Hawks were on offense. After the game, when asked how he did it, Lynch credited his teammates for his success, stating: “It’s a two-way street. I find them, they find me, and we do what we gotta do.” 

When asked about Lynch postgame, the Hawks head coach, Jamal Gomes ’91, said: “He’s improved tremendously, he’s one of the best leaders on our team. He’s vocal, communicates well, and he plays as hard as he can’s all the time.” Lynch surely has grown since last season, with improvements in every aspect of his game. 

The Hawks had a big night from senior star Cameron Hughes ’21 who had 6 points and 12 rebounds. Half of those were offensive with the other half coming in big moments where the Hawks needed to stop Skipper’s fiery offense. 

Senior guard and leader Justin Perez ’21 tallied 16 points while also tacking on 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Perez has been consistent this year so far, averaging 15 points in each of the season’s first two games. Last season, Perez provided a spark off the bench, and now, he serves as a catalyst regardless of the situation. 

Perez also helped provide some spark on defense for the Hawks with North Kingstown going on a 9-2 run to bring themselves within 2 in the third quarter. From there, it was all David Lynch, as the star guard scored 6 of his 26 points in the same quarter with 4 of those points being put-back shots from offensive rebounds.

Junior guard Jack Graham ’22 came in clutch for the Hawks on defense, providing tight defense to shut down the Skippers’ lethal shooters. Sophomore forward Cameron Chinn ’23 added six points off the bench for the Hawks, and senior Andres Andujar ’21 added eight points of his own. 

UP NEXT: On Wednesday, the Hawks travel down south to Westerly to face the Bulldogs for their first away game of the season.

The final from Jamal Gomes ’91 Court at Ray Pepin Gymnasium: the Hendricken Hawks 64, the North Kingstown Skippers 59.