Junior B Boys Basketball - Hawks defeat Sabres

Toni Lucas

Matthew Halton's  Junior B Boys Hawks basketball team hosted Livingstone's Sabres on Tuesday, January 28.  It was a close game at the half with the score 8 - 9 for the Sabres.  The Hawks then pushed back hard scoring 11 points in the third quarter.  The game ended with the Hawks victorious by 27 - 19.

It was the first win of the season for the Hawks, who have shown huge overall developmental progress in the last few weeks.  Their teamwork skills have definitely improved after a rocky start to the season. They demonstrated a fundamental shift in understanding the mechanics of the game. They are all starting to look for openings, to control the ball better, and passing is improving.  All of the boys on this team have picked up their game. Taite scored 9 points in the game with Hunter was close behind him with 8 points (including scoring three baskets in a row).  Every single player contributed, both by scoring and by getting those important rebounds.   A real hurdle has been overcome.  "It's the first time that they really played as a team," said Hawks Coach Coach Neil Lamont.

Sabres Joe Lowry with the ball and Hawks #4 Taite Jessen

The Sabres came out strong in the first half but seemed to lose a lot of their steam partway through the game, possibly because they only had 8 players.  Hunter was a blur on the court, and was also the team high scorer with 6 points.

Both teams have some young talent that are starting to really grown into the game.  More importantly, I saw both teams having genuine fun and enjoying the game.