State Bound!
Third-seeded Hawks win 4A IEL district championship
Coach Hanna holds up the trophy
The Lakeland Hawks(6-16) varsity basketball team is headed to the 4A State Tournament.
The team swept Sandpoint in a best-of-three series 60-30 on Feb. 27 at Hawk Court. Heading into the rival game, Lakeland knew they were able to beat the Bulldogs.
In the first half, the boys knew they were playing well enough to gain the lead, but not the best they could. After halftime, everyone agreed that all they had was sixteen minutes left to go to State and that was plenty of motivation.
Collin Cameron had a breakout game with 23 points against Sandpoint, with 16 of those points being scored in the second half. He also played impressive defense the entire game, locking down Sandpoint’s, Parker Childs. Scotty Hocking, Lakeland’s only returning starter, followed Cameron with 16.
The third quarter was highlighted by various three-pointers from the seniors.
It was agreed on the team by many that the district championship game was Lakeland’s best game of the season. It is firmly believed that the boys are much better than their record shows. It is highly impressive that heading into districts, Lakeland had a record of only 3-13.
“We finally played like we knew how to,” said Nick Nowell.
Winning three games in a row was unexpected for the Hawks.
“We quickly went from having nothing to lose to actually having something to lose,” said sophomore, Gabe Harris. Harris adds that being one of the youngest on the team makes the upcoming playoff games more nerve-racking.
Lakeland is now set to play Hillcrest(20-1) at 7 pm on Mar. 2 at Rocky Mountain Highschool in Boise, ID. Hillcrest is heading into the tournament as the number-one seed. They are undefeated in conference games for the 4A High Country League (10-0).
The team sees playing the Knights as just another game. They are ready to prove to people and show how far they have come between now and the start of the season.
“They have a big that we need to get in foul trouble. I am going to look to score a lot, and keep in mind that it is either win or go home,” said Hocking.
