The Lakeland Hawks (9-9, 1-3) faced off against the Post Falls Trojans (12-7, 3-4) on Feb. 3.
The Hawks suffered their third consecutive loss, with a score of 66-51 in Post Falls.
Though Post Falls is a very tough 5A opponent, it was obvious that the Hawks came out flat-footed. Though they did not play their best game, they still managed to keep the game within 15 points.
Kenton Ferguson led the Hawks in scoring with 14 points, followed by Tyler Norce with 12 and Gabe Harris with 11.
“Tyler had a good game, which helped a lot, but all around, we just did not perform how we should have,” junior Lovie Weil said.
In the first quarter, the Trojans started off very hot and consistent. They outscored the Hawks 21-9.
“I did not even know what was happening; they were just scoring at will, but we were doing what we could to stay in the game, though we started off very slow,” Ferguson said.
The Hawks had just come off of a tough loss to a very good team in Bonners Ferry.
The Hawks started to pick it up defensively in the second quarter, and it was evident by only allowing the Trojans to 14 points. They also started to pick it up offensively and scored 13 points, but kept still managed to keep the game somewhat close.
Consistency and effort are the two key factors to winning. The team that can manage to do both at a high level is normally the team that walks out victorious.
“Consistency is just one of those things that make good teams great, and effort is just something that you can control, not others,” Weil said.
The third quarter came quickly, and the Hawks kept playing at a proficient level. Although they were still trailing, they kept the game close, competed, and strove for victory, outscoring the Trojans 13-12.
“Their defense was just better than our offense. They were defending every shot we put up and were just all over the court,” Ferguson said.
The Hawks lost to the Lewiston Bengals (12-7, 4-4), 70-52 on the road on Feb. 5.
The Hawks are set to play the Coeur d’ Alene Vikings (16-3,7-0) on Feb. 9 in Coeur d’Alene.