The Blackhawks' offense had a tough go of it in the first half as they weren't able to finish on some well earned opportunities and then found themselves down at the half but then made a nice comeback for their twelfth win of the season by a final 57-46 score.

The Hawks scored a hoop early inside with Jack Wendler paying off a nice pass from Winston Poehler for two. The Hawks missed some nice shots then as Edgar grabbed the lead, however an offensive rebound by Dominic Sherwood helped. Colin Fritz then made it 11-6, cutting the Edgar lead to five as the Hawks continued to battle. Sam Wells came off the bench and right away put two on the board off a tough drive. Winston Poehler then scored the last eight points for the Blackhawks off a pair of threes and a rebound putback. The Hawks felt fortunate to only be trailing 27-17 at the half and knew that they had work to do.

The second half was a different story for the Hawks as their offense got it going. Poehler and Wendler each scored inside early and then back-to-back hoops by Wendler got the Hawks within two, 29-27. Poehler then anticipated a pass and stole it and finished it off to give the Blackhawks a one point lead. A rebound tip-in by Gay, followed by a long three by him, gave the Hawks a 36-30 advantage. The Blackhawks continued to attack the rim and got fouled and paying it off on the free throw line. Another Mason Gay three put the Hawks up by nine, 43-34. As they game grew more physical, the Hawks continued to attack the rim and get fouled. Colin Fritz at one point hit seven free throws in a row. The Hawks finished the game off and sealed it at the free throw line. The final was 57-46.

The Blackhawks outscored the Wildcats 40-19 in the second half. They finished 21-28 at the free throw line for 75%.

Box Score: Poehler 20 pts, 14 rebs, 4 asts, 6 stls; Fritz 13 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls; Gay 9 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 3 stls; Sherwood 6 pts, 7 rebs, 4 stls; Wendler 6 pts, 3 rebs; Wells 3 pts; Baehr 3 rebs.

Coach's Comments

Total gut check game, as things didn't go our way in the first half but we stayed with it. We had a lot of tips and deflections on defense that didn't go our way. We really turned up the defense even more in the second half and we finished in the second half a lot better.