“I had to get that one,” Hutchinson said after seventh-seeded Milton’s 67-58 victory against its 10th-seeded foe. “I told my family I’d get them one.”
Hutchinson, whose coach, Sean LoPresti, charged him with carrying the Wildcats after team leader and senior Marcus McDermott left with a leg injury earlier in the quarter, would have to wait a few minutes to make good on his promise.
He was called for traveling on the dunk, and Nauset (15-6) went on a 5-0 run, cutting the lead to 58-53 with 2:16 to play.
Fortunately for Milton (17-4), a hobbled McDermott had returned to thunderous applause and “M-V-P” chants about two minutes before Hutchinson’s negated slam.
McDermott quickly halted Nauset’s run with a jumper, his only field goal in the final quarter of a game-high 22-point performance.
Fortunately for the Hutchinson family, the junior had another chance at a game-clinching dunk after he stole the ball at half court with 1:30 left and went untouched to the hoop to put Milton up, 62-55.
More importantly, six of Hutchinson’s 14 points came in the fourth quarter when he was needed most.
“My coach told me ‘Marcus is down; you have to step up,’” said Hutchinson, who added 12 rebounds and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the second half.
“He said, ‘Get down low and rebound,’ and that’s what I did, and that’s how we got the outcome.”
The Wildcats also got a home game when No. 15 Academy of Public Service stunned No. 2 Duxbury, 77-66, Wednesday night. Milton will host the Academy (12-7) Friday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
With Milton up, 48-44, with 6:02 left in the game, McDermott drove to the basket and landed hard on his right leg.
“All my weight landed on my calf, my calf cramped up like crazy, and I couldn’t move it,” said McDermott, who left the game for nearly two minutes.
“It stiffened up for five seconds. The trainer put ice on it and then it was fine. It’s still a little sore but it’s all good.
“It slowed me down a little, but my teammates were making plays so it worked out.”
The victory was also McDermott’s first non-preliminary playoff win since he joined the team after spending two years at Beaver Country Day.
Milton beat Duxbury, 71-68, in the preliminary round last year before losing to Nauset on the road in the first round of the tournament. The previous year the Wildcats lost to Franklin after beating Randolph in the preliminaries.
“It’s good to get out of the first round,” said McDermott, who hit four big 3-pointers in the first half to give Milton a 33-28 halftime edge and keep his team afloat.
Which is exactly what Hutchinson did when McDermott couldn’t.
“Manny’s a good player,” LoPresti said. “He was playing against bigger guys, which is not always easy to do, but when Manny wants to play he’s tough to defend. He’s very athletic.”
Milton also got a lift from senior Tim Potts’ 15 points.
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