One down, one to go. 

The Lakeland Hawks (9-8) played their first game of the postseason on Wednesday night and played a back and forth battle with the Moscow Bears (6-8). Lakeland trailed by one at the half and secured the home victory against Moscow by a 54-49. 

The Hawks only needed five scorers to outscore the bears in the relatively low-scoring Wednesday matchup. This game was the first in the best-of-three series with Moscow, meaning Lakeland needs just one more win to advance to state. 

It was a rare occurrence to see a lead more than a few points in the first half with both teams throwing jabs back and forth and were neck and neck throughout both of the first two quarters. However, Lakeland jumped out to a small lead in the third quarter that they were able to hold throughout the fourth quarter and eventually secure the home victory. 

The Hawks outscored the Bears 28-22 in the second half, which assured their five-point victory would stay strong. 

Carson Seay scored 10 for the Hawks making multiple clutch free throws in the fourth quarter. Bryce Henry also scored the majority of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, and he played a massive part in the Hawk’s victory. 

Ammon Munyer put up 10 points and had one of the season’s strongest performances right on time in the first district game. 

Noah Haaland was the most electric player in the victory scoring 12 points with multiple superstar, jaw-dropping dunks. Jalen Skalskiy stayed consistent, scoring 11 and continuing the leadership role that he has held year-round. 

These five were the only scorers in the game for Lakeland, which was all they needed to secure their tenth win and take the first game of the series with Moscow. Taylor Skraner scored 11 points and led the Moscow bears, but this impressive performance wasn’t enough for Moscow to successfully defend the Lakeland frontcourt’s length and height. 

The second game in the best of three series between the two teams will be Friday at 6 p.m. at Lakeland High School.

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