Big 8 rivals battle it out at CRC

The Hawks were looking to bounce back from a one possession road loss to Delta by coming out strong at home against inner-city rival Sac City tonight. The Hawks definitely set the tone in the first half with hard-nosed defensive and uptempo man offense. CRC attacked the rim aggressively and often scoring in the paint on offensive sets and transition. Offense came difficult for the Panthers of Sac City with the swarming defense they faced in the half court. The Hawks took a 35-25 lead into the break.

At halftime, the CRC coaching staff showed excitement for their team's first half performance but strongly advised their players to stay hungry and focused. They were reminded that this is a huge rivalry game and that Sac City will come out with something to prove, attack heavily off the dribble to score, and be very aggressive defensively.

In the second half, that is exactly what happened. Sac City started with a layup, and-one finish in the paint from an offensive rebound, and a three in the corner to go on an 8-0 in three straight possessions. After a CRC timeout, Sac City continued the momentum with another 10-4 run. The Panthers forced another timeout by CRC.  Sac City went on a 26-12 run over the first 7:20 of the second half. From that point, it was a struggle to get any kind of momentum to swing back the Hawks way. The Panthers led by as much as 16 in this game. CRC cut it to 8 points under 2 minutes left with trapping, steals, and quick 3s that hit. Unfortunately, the deficit was too much for the comeback. The Hawks took a devastating loss 84-70.

After the game, a few thoughts were shared by the CRC coaches. Assistant Coach Tony Champion felt that "we showed how good we can be as well as the opposite. We have to improve on playing complete games." This game was definitely a tale of two halves. Head Coach Jonathan James continued the conversation sharing that "at some point, you have to play with your heart. Tonight, Sac City did that. This game wasn't and X's and O's battle. It was a matter of will, heart, and pride! Tonight, we didn't show that and got beat."

CRC stands at 2-3 in the Big 8 Conference and 6-9 overall. The Hawks travel to Santa Rosa to face the top team in the Big 8 #14 state ranked Bearcubs this Thursday at 7:30pm.

TOP SCORERS – De'Rajaee Austin 26 pts 6 ast 5reb, Jordan Roberson 24pts 7reb