Hawks put opposition away, win all

three games, now sport 6-1 record

By James Tilson

Staff writer

Dec. 14, 2017

 

MT. PLEASANT—The North Sanpete Hawks boys basketball team went 3-0 last week, improving their record to 6-1 with victories over Union High, Millard High and Maeser Prep Academy.

The Hawks jumped all over Union in Roosevelt from the beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 5, and took a commanding 24-7 lead to end the first quarter.

The Hawks played their pressing defense and high-tempo offense to great advantage. By halftime, North Sanpete’s lead had stretched out to 48-16.

Union did a little better in the third quarter and pushed hard in the fourth making 24 points but came nowhere near catching up to the Hawks.

The final score represents the Hawks’ dominance of the game, 85-54.

The Hawks were led by Jalen Sorensen with 21 points and Shawn Taylor with 18 points. Spencer Steadman had eight rebounds and 10 assists.

Against the Eagles of Millard on Friday, Dec. 8, at home, the Hawks were troubled by cold shooting early in this game, missing a number of early lay-ups that contributed to a close first half with the Eagles ahead 23-21 at halftime.

But the return of the Hawks’ pressure defense in the second half sparked a scoring explosion, which saw the Hawks outscore Millard by 15 points.

The final score of 58-45 with the Hawks on top does not reflect the true nature of the game, as the Hawks lifted their foot off the gas in the last four minutes of the game.

Joseph Garlick had a break-out game for the Hawks, scoring 21 points on the night, while Taylor had 12 points and seven assists.

The Saturday, Dec. 9, home game against the Lions of Maeser Preparatory Academy was a nail-biter, coming down to the last few possessions before the victory was in hand.

The Hawks got out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter, with their signature pressure defense leading the way.

But Maeser clawed their way back and were ahead by two points at the half, 34-32.

The third quarter was more of the same, with the Hawks jumping into passing lanes to makes steals and easy buckets and Maeser working hard for its scores.

At the end of three quarters, the score was tied 45-45.

To begin the fourth quarter, Maeser jumped out to an early lead, 53-47 at the four-minute mark.

But the Hawk defense clamped down and did not allow another score from Maeser the rest of the game.

Using pressure defense and coming up with critical stops and steals, the Hawks worked their way back and took the lead with under two minutes.

Down three points with 23 seconds left, Maeser tried to come up with a tie score.

The Hawks denied them and threw a game-clinching pass to Taylor to make the final score 58-53.

Steadman led the Hawks with 15 points, while Taylor and Sorensen both had 14 points. All three combined for 17 steals.

The Hawks will travel to Cedar City tomorrow, with tip-off at 7 p.m.