Balanced attack leads to Hawks' 72-44 win over Tigers
However, it was a number of role players and a tough start for the Tigers that parlayed the intensity of this game into a blowout, in which Hiland used several big runs to cruise to a 72-44 victory.
Neither team started out like a house on fire, as Hiland got a pair of buckets from Noah Boyd in the first five minutes, while Drew Kuecher finally got Strasburg on the board at the 3:16 mark to make it 4-2. But then two bench players stepped up to end the quarter, with Luke Burch completing a sizzling drive down the lane and Chaise Gerber hitting a 3-pointer to give Hiland a 9-2 edge after one.
The Hawks then got going offensively in the second quarter, and did so with the long ball. After Dylan Kaufman found Bonifant underneath to make it 11-2, Hiland scored 3-pointers on four of its next six possessions, including triples from Boyd, Conn, Boyd again and finally Neil Gingerich. Gingerich's points gave Hiland a 27-10 lead, and Burch's steal and lay-up made it 29-10. Strasburg fought back, getting a 3-pointer from Kuecher, and the Tigers' Reese Bonifant drove the lane to cut the lead to 29-16, but Gerber connected on another long-range jumper to end the quarter, with Hiland leading 32-16.
The Hawks built the lead to 21 points in the third quarter thanks in large part to its near-perfection from the charity stripe. The lead continued to grow throughout the second half, as Hiland's depth was too hard for the Tigers to contain.
"The biggest thing for us tonight was how some of our role players stepped up," said Hiland coach Mark Schlabach. "We had some kids play with confidence tonight. Chaise hit some big shots and Neil Gingerich played his best game he's had for us yet. He had a great practice the night before and that carried over into tonight. I thought Braden did a really nice job defensively."
Schlabach said that the well-balanced scoring attack — only Boyd scored in double-figures, with 17, while eight Hawks scored between five and nine points — has alleviated some of the pressure on Dylan Kaufman. Schlabach said Kaufman felt like he had to carry the team in scoring at times last season, but this year, he has been free to do a lot of distributing of the ball.
"There were nights last year when he thought he had to score 20, even some nights 30 points," said Schlabach. "He's gotten over that mentality, and now he feels like he can facilitate the ball more comfortably because he doesn't have to score."
That led to some real headaches on the defensive end for the Tigers. Every time Strasburg got a big score that could lead to a possible comeback bid, Hiland would answer, and Tiger coach Shawn Miller said that his team struggled all night on the defensive end.
"We had a very rough night defensively," said Miller. "They're a well balanced team, and it makes it tough when you have to worry about all five guys out there scoring. We just didn't do much right defensively tonight, we simply didn't step up."
With the return of Seger Bonifant to his old school, where he played up until last season, the hype around this contest was electric. However, both teams did a great job of controlling their emotions, and both coaches talked at length to their players about how, despite the high emotions in this game, it was only the second game of the season.
"It's early in the season," said Miller. "It's the second game. We talked about (Seger Bonifant) coming back, but our focus was on getting better. Hiland is a good team, a balanced team, and this was a chance for us to improve. There's a long way to go, and we'll use this to keep getting better. Not a lot went well tonight, but we'll be OK. We've got good kids who work hard. I'm proud of the way they conducted themselves."
Schlabach said he talked to his players about being composed, and that they needed to keep the bigger picture in mind, which was to be better in game two than game one.
"You have to let all the hoopla go, and focus on the game at hand," said Schlabach. "This was a packed house, in a tournament-like atmosphere, and I think that helped us stay focused. I think it is a credit to the kids on both sides that they didn't let anything get out of hand tonight. It was well fought both ways, and I don't think the score was necessarily indicative of how hard both sides played. But in the end, it was only the second game of the season, and we've got a ways to go yet."
Along with Boyd's 17, Gerber, Bonifant and Burch all had nine for the Hawks, while Jalen Miller, Kaufman and Gingerich added six, and Conn and Cody Gerber pitched in with five. Kuecher led the way for the Tigers with 13, while Hunter Schneiter scored 11, and Dylan Sibley and Austin Hochstetler each dropped in six. Hiland was nearly perfect at the free throw line, going 13-of-14. Hiland's JV team won easily, grinding out a 51-17 victory.