The Blackhawks suffered a slow start in the Championship game at the Stratford Christmas Basketball Tournament against the hosting Stratford Tigers. The Blackhawks made a valiant effort in the second half but came up short by a final score of 54-38.

The Hawks defense continued to play well versus the 7-1 Stratford Tigers as both teams boast solid defenses. The Blackhawks, however, could not get the ball to consistently go through the hoop along with some early foul trouble. Winston Poehler found Dominic Sherwood on a back cut to open the game's scoring. Sam Wells would later attack the land for two. However, after a Sherwood post score, the Hawks would go dry until another Wells' basket made it 17-8 in favor of the Tigers. Poehler would find a hoop from long range along with Colin Fritz on the inside, but the Hawks trailed 27-14 at the half.

After not scoring in their first four possessions, the Blackhawks then found some light, scoring off two Wendler offensive rebounds on back-to-back possessions. Four straight free throws from Fritz and Sherwood and a putback by Poehler cut the lead to 34-24. The Blackhawks continued to battle, but could not cut into the lead any more. Even a pair of Sherwood threes were answered by the Tigers. Eventually, Stratford prevailed by a 54-38 final score.

The Blackhawks were only able to shoot 31% overall from the field even though they out rebounded the Tigers 34-31.

Box Score:  Sherwood 12 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts; Poehler 8 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts; Fritz 7 pts, 7 rebs; Wells 7 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts; Wendler 4 pts, 7 rebs; Paczkowski 4 rebs; P. Fritz 1 reb, 1 ast.

Coach's Comments

We just dug ourselves a hole in the first half, and against a solid team like Stratford it is costly as they rarely turn the ball over or give up easy baskets. Two solid defensive teams as we held them to 54, even with fouling at the end.

A solid non-conference game for our players to play in, as it will get us ready for the second part of the season. This game will definitely make us better.