GATES MILLS, OH— The Hawken Hawks cruised to a 71-53 win over the Benedictine Bengals to improve to 7-2 on the season. With the loss, the Bengals early struggles continue as they fall to 2-6.
Defense and transition offense was the name of the game for Hawken from start to finish, and very quickly the fans realized it was junior Greg Price and freshman Ice Taylor stealing the show.
However, it was Daron Hill that got the scoring started with a running floater from the right block. Taylor and Price quickly entered the scoring column after that. It was quickly 6-0 Hawks before the Bengals put points up. Tyree Williamson generated a steal and Damone Darmond got the transition basket on the other end to make it 6-2. A run to answer was not to be for Benedictine as the Hawks outscored them 12-5 the rest of quarter and held an 18-7 lead after the first quarter.
Freshman Ice Taylor with a transition bucket in the 2nd for Hawken
Head coach Anthony Burns decided to let his Hawks move to a press defense to start the second to put even more pressure on the Bengals. The second quarter started off with four points from Ice Taylor, all in the style of defense-to-offense. Bryce Meitin ended the drought for the Bengals with what felt like a huge three-point shot, and after a charge was called on Jacob Stovsky, the Bengals were looking to build momentum. Unfortunately for the Bengals, Stovsky redeemed himself with a triple to push the lead to 17, sparking a 10-3 run by the Hawks to close the first half, and take a 37-15 lead into the locker room.
The Bengals showed fight in the second half, as they started scoring five of the first seven points in the third quarter, but some excellent ball movement from Hawken found Charlie Mallett open for a three-ball to make the lead 42-20. That 22 point lead at half was moved to 23 after the third, 53-30, with the Bengals showed much better rhythm offensively, but the Hawks offense was just as strong.
Charlie Mallett with a 3-ball for Hawken in the 3rd
The Bengals decided to ramp up the pressure with a press of their won, and the results didn’t show early. The Hawks ran a flawless press break offense and continued to gather points on the offensive end. Eventually, Hawken got sloppy, and the Bengal press led to turnovers and points , including an and-one opportunity for Jonathan Spikes to build some momentum. It was far too little, as the comeback fell well short and the Hawks get the win 71-53.
Price and Taylor were dynamic for Hawken. Price led the way with 21 points, doing most of his damage at the free throw line as he attacked downhill. Taylor had 18 points and drained a triple as well. For Benedictine, Spikes had 17 points and Noah Whisler was closely behind him with 15.
Both teams will return to action after the holidays on Saturday, Jan. 4. The Hawks will battle against the Cleveland Heights Tigers, and the Bengals will look to get back in the win column against the Villa Angela-St. Joseph Vikings.
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