HADLEY – The 31st-seeded Hopkins Academy boys basketball team jumped out to a 14-0 lead and coasted to a 53-41 home victory over No. 34 South Shore Charter in the MIAA Division 5 preliminary round on Tuesday night at Reed Gymnasium.

South Shore (8-7) mostly kept up with Hopkins Academy after the first quarter, but never got back within two possessions. The game was particularly out of reach after top players Khai Francis and Clay Jean-Baptiste – who were responsible for more than two-thirds of the Jaguars’ scoring – fouled out in the fourth quarter, enabling the Hawks to cruise to a relatively comfortable win.

Freshman star Owen Earle sat on the bench in a walking boot, still nursing an ankle injury, but his older cousin Chace Earle led the Hawks with 21 points. 

“We’ve asked a lot of him because Owen went down,” Hopkins head coach Jim Hart said of Chace. “So we’re telling him, ‘you’ve got to step up.’”

Chace Earle took more responsibility in ball-handling duties, made several tough drives to the hoop and also nailed a pair of triples.

Next up, the Golden Hawks (7-14) travel to Boston to face No. 2 seed New Mission on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Round of 32.

New Mission has won five state titles in the past 20 years and dropped down from Division 3 to Division 5 this year.

“Their athleticism is off the wall,” Hart said. “Let’s compete, be tough, take some charges, do a lot of little things that nobody really thinks you’re going to do.”

James Fitzgibbons, the only senior among a group of starters that included two freshmen and two sophomores, said he’s going to play Thursday’s game like it may be his last. In what was likely his final home game on Tuesday, the big man scored 15 points, from five makes at the rack and five from the free-throw line. He’s looking forward to the trip to Boston.

“I’m playing with nothing to lose,” Fitzgibbons said. “It’s my last-ever game so I’m going to play as hard as I can.”

Div. 4 prelim

No. 28 Frontier 81, No. 37 Madison Park 46 – After going on the road for its lone state tournament game a season ago, the Frontier boys basketball team earned a home game in the preliminary round of the MIAA Div. 4 state tourney on Tuesday, and made sure to send its fans home happy. 

Hosting No. 37 Madison Park in the prelims, the 28th-seeded Redhawks came out swinging in the first quarter by building an 18-5 lead.  

Nico Fasulo had the hot hand for Frontier in the second quarter, scoring 10 of his 14 points to help the Redhawks take a 37-16 lead at the half. Frontier made sure the Cardinals didn’t have a chance for a second half comeback by keeping its foot on the gas in the third quarter, with the Redhawks ultimately advancing to the Round of 32 with an 81-46 triumph at Goodnow Gymnasium. 

Frontier (11-10) will play No. 5 Manchester Essex (19-1) on the road Friday at 6:30 p.m. 

“It’s awesome to win a state tournament game,” Redhawks coach Josh Morse said. “Last year we go on the road and lose a game that we thought we had a chance to win. It feels great to win here and have a home game. Now we’re in the Round of 32 and we’ll try to make some noise and see what happens.” 

Owen Babb and Sasha Dragicevich both finished with 13 points, Caiden Manning knocked down three 3-pointers en route to nine points, Rowan Modestow tallied seven points while Luke Howard added five points in the win.