The Hawks went on the road to Hudson today to take on Columbia Greene in the first of 3 straight games on the road this week. It was evident in the opening minutes the the high flying Hawks were ready to compete as they took the floor against the Twins.
The game got off to a hot start for both teams, as the Twins scorched the nets with an array of 3's early on. But the Hawks defense continued to battle and rebound to weather the storm and compete on both ends of the floor during the flurry.
Although the the Twins took a lead of 11 in the first half just 8 minutes in, the Hawks were ready to make their run. A 24-7 run sparked by the transition scoring of Jalen Bradberry, Lateef Johnson, and Isaiah Earl turned the page in the game, and sparked a timeout by the hometown Twins.
A few midrange jumpers by Jaquan Gordon, an electric dunk by Isaiah Earl, and a deep 3 by Jalen Bradberry out of the timeout helped the Hawks sustain and take a 14 point lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the locker room, Columbia Greene punched first, cutting the lead to 6 by scrapping and clawing back into the game. Officials allowed physical play throughout which made for an epic finish in Hudson for the Hawks.
As the game winded down, the Hawks controlled the pace, executed their offense and closed out the victory by a final score of 88-81. The Hawks were led by an explosive 30 point, 5 assists, 5 rebounds performance by Freshman guard Jalen Bradberry. Freshman 6'10 forward Isaiah Earl added 25 points and 14 rebounds, including an array of dunks and timely put backs. And Lateef Johnson showed up strong against for MV with 22 points and 11 rebounds for the evening.
"This league continues to show its strength from top to bottom. Coach Maisch has a very talented group out there and they have been very competitive this season, so we are fortunate to get out of Hudson with a victory. As for our group, I thought Jalen was special today. He made some great plays in pivotal moments in that game, that really put us in position to win. I challenged Isaiah early on, and I was happy with how he responded and answered the bell. Lateef continues to be Lateef all year long, and we are fortunate for that. He just battles and does so many little things that help a team win. But it really goes down the line for this group and thats whats exciting. As we continue to get healthy, this is what it is going to take for us to win. Every night we have had different guys step up, and they all continue to be excited for each other while winning and competing. We head out on the road tomorrow morning early to North Country, and its going to be a true challenge for us with this quick turn around. We are excited for the challenge." Coach Fuller said after the victory.