By MATT METCALF

Sports Editor

It’s only January, but the Hendricken/La Salle basketball game last Wednesday had a championship feel to it.

The Rams ultimately emerged victorious on their home court, outlasting the Hawks in double overtime, 76-70.

A free throw from Hendricken point guard Kyle Henseler with just a couple of seconds left in regulation tied the game at 53, sending the two teams to overtime.

The first extra frame decided nothing, as both teams frequently traded buckets, forcing double overtime.

But in the second overtime period, La Salle began to pull away. Guard Mike McCourt continued to fill it up as he did all game, helping to create the eventual six-point differential on the scoreboard.

Hendricken didn’t have an answer for McCourt on the defensive end, as the senior captain poured in a game-high 43 points, scoring both outside and inside.

“He had a great night,” Hendricken head coach Jamal Gomes said of McCourt. “He was very tough to guard and they set a lot of nice screens for him. He just had a great night, and I told him that after the game.”

A trio of Hawks had standout games in the tough defeat, namely Henseler, who stepped up and provided some additional scoring in the absence of sophomore Preston Santos, who is out with mono.

Henseler scored a team-high 23 points, drilling some key shots down the stretch in regulation. Trevor Lawton also played a big game, hitting the glass while chipping in with 20 points of his own. Junior Justin Mazzulla also did a little bit of everything for the Hawks, adding 15 points.

Hendricken trailed La Salle for much of the second half, but Lawton’s offense helped the Hawks stay at striking distance, scoring 11 of his 20 points in the second half.

Hendricken would battle back to take the lead, 52-51, on a 3-pointer from Dimitri Rosa with less than a minute left.

However, McCourt would come down the court and score on a drive to the hoop to give La Salle a 1-point lead.

With seconds left, Henseler raced down the floor looking for the win but got fouled.

He’d hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 53.

McCourt was rather quiet in the first overtime, but he heated up again in the second overtime.

He would score 12 of La Salle’s 13 points in the second extra period to help the Rams escape with the win. La Salle got three key offensive rebounds in the second overtime, too, off of missed free throws.

Those second chance opportunities led to big shots every time for La Salle.

“They made some big shots at key times and made their free throws,” Gomes said. “And when they missed their free throws in the second overtime, they got the offensive rebound and were able to pull it out.”

Although the loss was a tough one for the Hawks, it didn’t serve as much other than a measuring stick for where the team is at this point.

“It’s Jan. 6, so this game is a good barometer to see where we are and where we need to be,” Gomes said. “La Salle played fantastic, they battled and we battled, two overtimes. I thought when we got into the second overtime, La Salle just wanted it more. You could tell by the way they were getting loose balls, 50/50 balls.”

The game did serve as a potential state championship preview, though.

La Salle and Hendricken are arguably the top two teams in the state, at least at this point. If that did end up being the title matchup, fans from both schools would be in for another treat, as the Hawks and Rams couldn’t be more even from a talent standpoint.

As for now, Hendricken will take the loss as a motivational tool as it heads into the bulk of its league schedule.

“I would categorize this as a tough loss, but a good one,” Gomes said. “Now we can regroup and refocus on what we need to do.”