The Blackhawks traveled to Phillips on Friday night for a non-conference affair against the 6-1 Phillips Loggers and earned a solid victory with a big second half for a 68-58 final score.

The Blackhawks found themselves trailing early and for much of the first half as Sam Wells got the Hawks started with a nice drive and finish. Phillips answered with a three and some solid shooting. Dominic Sherwood scored on a cut and a pass from fellow senior Colin Fritz and on the next possession Winston Poehler got a rebound and putback as the Hawks trailed 7-6. An inside score from Jack Wendler would keep the Hawks close but they would trail 16-9 before finding their footing. Colton Paczkowski hit three of 4 from the line to help the offense, but a steal and coast-to-coast drive by Fritz started the offense again, with Sherwood adding one from long range. The Blackhawks were able to tie the score at 28-28 at the half.

Poehler found Wendler inside on the first possession of the second half along with Wendler dishing to Wells for two moments later and the Blackhawks were off to a solid start. Poehler and Fritz would each connect from three later giving the Hawks a 38-33 advantage as their defense kept the pressure on the Loggers. Five straight possessions with scores also helped with Fritz and Poehler again hitting from deep and drawing the Loggers out of their 1-3-1 defense. A third Poehler three off a Sherwood inbound put the Hawks up 54-48. With the game under three minutes remaining, the Blackhawks got key inside scores from Wendler and Fritz along with Wells and Sherwood connecting on five of 6 from the line in the end. The Blackhawks forced the Loggers into three straight turnovers towards the end of the game that helped. In the end, the Blackhawks earned their sixth win of the season.

The Hawks shot 18 of 31 from two and 6 of 13 from three for the night along with 32 rebounds and 16 assists.

Box Score: Fritz 17 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts, 4 stls; Wells 15 pts, 3 rebs, 3 stls; Poehler 15 pts, 10 rebs, 2 asts; Sherwood 11 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts; Wendler 7 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts; Paczkowski 3 pts, 3 asts; Baehr 1 reb, 1 stl.

Coach's Comments

The guys kept the pressure on Phillips on both ends, playing at a high intensity level and not letting them relax on either end. In the end it paid off. We had great balanced scoring as each of the guys truly took turns making plays throughout the game on both ends. Well-deserved win!