Hawks drop two games in Border Clash Tournament

Liam Bradford, Sports Editor

The Lakeland Hawks basketball team participated in the border clash tournament between Spokane Valley and Northern Idaho Schools. On Dec 3, the Hawks faced the East Valley Eagles in an early-season matchup and lost 60-54. 

Lakeland started off the game in command and led by 17 points at halftime. The impressive first-half performance was led by veterans Grant Roth and Bryce Henry. Roth finished the game with 20 points, while Henry added 13 of his own. 

Referring to the game, Bryce Henry said, “We played good in the first half but lost control a little in the second half, and they were able to come back and beat us. It was a good game, but I feel like we definitely played better on the second day of the tournament.” 

Diezel Wilkinson led the Eagles in a comeback and scored 21 points to help his team complete the comeback victory. The Eagles outscored the Hawks 60-54 after a 41-18 second-half trouncing. 

On Dec 4, the Hawks played their second game of the tournament, this time against West Valley. 

Bryce Henry led the show with 20 points, while Abe Munyer had 11 and Scotty Hocking had 10. West Valley outscored Lakeland 33-22 in the second half on the road to a 59-51 victory, as the Hawks fell to 1-2 on the season. 

Scotty Hocking said, “I definitely think that we played much better in our second game against West Valley, which was a really close game that could have ended either way.” 

The Hawks play next on Dec 10 against St. Maries at 7 pm.