English’s Hogan nets milestone in win

There was one important milestone reached in Tuesday?s Danvers-English boys basketball game … and one very gratifying result for the Bulldogs.Fred Hogan, who only had two points in the first half, exploded for 13 third-quarter points and then scored the 1,000th of his career just after the midway point of the fourth period on a floater that very sweetly caromed off the backboard into the net.And once that was out of the way, Hogan proceeded to lead his team for a very important 71-66 win over the Falcons that goes a long way toward righting the ship for the Bulldogs after struggling through a loss to crosstown rival Lynn Classical last week.?It (the 1,000th point) was amazing,” said Hogan, who was given the ball and a plaque after the game was halted. “I don?t know what to say.”In the first half, “I kind of think I was overthinking a little,” he said. “But in the second half, I got more of a rhythm going, and I was playing aggressively. I wasn?t really thinking about scoring 1,000 in the second half. I was just playing the way I play.”Hogan?s milestone points came at the right time as they gave English its first lead of the game (62-60) with 3:24 to go in the game. From there, the Bulldogs, 10-3 (and who qualified for the state tournament), kept their distance from the Falcons, thanks, again, to Hogan, who hit two clutch free throws down the stretch.The first half was a struggle for English, which scored only six points in the first quarter (the Bulldogs had only 22 in the first half).?I don?t think,” said coach Mike Carr, “that I?ve ever coached a team that had six points in the first quarter. We were pressing. I think Freddie was pressing, and the rest of the guys were pressing for him. Hey, they love their teammate and they wanted this for him.”At halftime, Carr told his players to simply relax and let it flow.?We told Fred that we have nine games left, and that he was going to get his 1,000th,” Carr said. “This was about us getting the win. And they all played better.”One thing that helped the Bulldogs was the return to the lineup of Stevie Collins, who had eight points. Also playing well for English were senior Danny Lukanda, who had 16; and Johnny Hilaire, who finished with 13 points, but had 10 of them in the first half to keep English from falling further behind the two-time Division 3 state champions.It doesn?t get any easier for the ?Dogs, as they face Salem Friday.?It would be nice if we could win that one,” said Carr, whose team lost to the Witches the first time around. “We?d be right back in the hunt (for the Northeastern Conference North title) if we could.”