The opening week of basketball was quite an exciting week of action for the Hawks Freshman Basketball Team. The squad lit up the courts in three dominating performances, including wins over Festus, Northwest and Windsor.
In game one of the week, the Hawks took on their rivals the Festus Tigers. Hillsboro came out slow only putting up eight total points in the first half, as they trailed 15-8 going into halftime. The pep talk must have shaken up the boys as they doubled their total output in quarter three alone, scoring 16 points. They stayed hot in the fourth as they kept the rally going, adding another 18. The Hawks defeated the Tigers 44-33.
There were two hot hands for the Hawks. Gunner Sutton came on strong down the stretch putting up 13 points in the second half alone, after scoring only two in the first. Preston Brown also got hot later, contributing 13 points in total, with 11 in the second half.
Next up for the team was the Northwest Lions. It didn’t take long for the Hawks to put this game out of reach as they quickly posted 17 points in the first quarter, while at the same time keeping the Lions off the board at all. In the second quarter, the Lions did put up nine points, but the Hawks outpaced their foes by scoring 14. At half time, the game was virtually over as Hillsboro led 31-9. It was more of the same in the second half, as Hillsboro went on to defeat Northwest 57-17.
It was the Sutton show again, as he notched 13 points for his squad. Also putting up 13 was Greg Robinson who had eight of his total in the first quarter. Aidan Roland and Jack Roye also were big, scoring nine apiece.
In the last game for the week, the Hawks kept soaring. This game looked similar to the last in terms of points per quarter. Hillsboro jumped out to an early lead 14-3 after one. Then after adding 13 more in the second, the game was virtually over as they led 27-9 after the first half concluded. The Hawks kept the heat on as they tacked on 18 and 13 in quarters three and four respectively, to close out the game by another huge margin of victory 58-24.
Many of the Hawks were able to contribute in the lopsided victory. Robinson stole the show this time by tallying up 15 while Brown was right behind him notching 12. Roland was next with 7 and Coleton Romaine and Sutton each had six of their own.
Hillsboro is on a roll, and momentum can mean a lot, especially in the early part of a season. The Hawks will look to keep the fire burning in the coming weeks, hopefully keeping their hands hot with Winter break just around the corner.
