The visiting Hawks found another weapon to turn to when the hosting Hornets double-teamed their top guns in an Inter-Valley Conference clash Tuesday, Jan. 12, at Malvern.
Luke Burch found himself wide open several times when the Malvern defense collapsed on Dylan Kaufman and Noah Boyd, and each time Burch made the most of his opportunities, in leading the Hawks to a 72-60 triumph over the Hornets.
The sophomore southpaw connected on three 3-pointers and added several other jumpers from 18-feet, as well as driving layups on his way to a team-high 20 points.
In spite of the double-team, Kaufman still managed to score 14 points and Boyd added 10, but was held without a 3-pointer.
Chaise Gerber continued his hot hand from the outside, connecting on a pair of triples on his way to six points. Braden Conn also dialed up a long one on his way to seven points, and Jason Miller added five points with a triple.
Josh Yoder chipped in six points for the winners, who improved to 8-0 on the season, 5-0 in the IVC. Jalen Miller and Alex Schmucker added two points apiece to account for the Hawks winning total of 72.
The Hawks got off to a fast start, building a 17-8 lead after the first quarter. Hiland maintained a nine-point lead, 37-28 at intermission.
A 15-9 third-quarter run enabled the Hawks to pull away and cruise to their eighth win of the season without a loss.
Malvern was paced by the one-two of Travis Tucci and Max Kapron. Tucci scored 18 and Kapron added 19 points to go with 10 rebounds. Adam Wackerley added 10 for the Hornets, who fell to 5-2, and 4-1 in the IVC.
