The game opened with a dominant performance by the Hawks in the first quarter, holding Newark BC to just 2 points. Newark BC struggled to find their rhythm early on, with shots falling short and no real leader on the floor to take command. They had plenty of good looks but couldn’t finish either up close or from range. Both teams saw themselves running lengths, as a result of poorly chosen shots.  

Newark BC’s coach had stern words to say at the end of quarter one, as the second quarter was a different story. Hawks were missing their starting big-man and floor general, Goodwin; we saw a scoreless night for Graham who had to leave the court early after an injury ended his night. Led by Rekstys, Newark BC surged back with a 20-point quarter, taking a narrow 22-21 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the scoring struggles continued for both teams. Newark could only manage a single point - as a result of more bad choices and increasing pressure from Hawks. Newark appear to be lacking any commanding point guard, and resort to low percentage 3pt shooting with minimal success. Whilst Hawks relied on their go-to, Amo, to take over. Although he began to show signs of frustration after being asked to sub out after a disagreement with the referees. With that being said, the young squad of Hawks appeared better-off the further the game progressed, whilst Newark showed clear signs of fatigue.

The fourth quarter was the most evenly matched, with Hawks outscoring Newark by just 11-9. A lead that should have been larger with 13 offensive rebounds from Hawks, led by Kidd with 6. But after 40 minutes of game-time, Hawks were able to seal the deal on their first win of the season - a win that we’re sure they are relieved of after 3 consecutive losses.

Hawk’s Miles led the scorers with 14 points - half of these coming from FTs. Stankys and Mockus were the Newark rebounding duo, catching 10 and 7, respectively. 

Defensively, the Hawks won the steal battle with Amo and Davis both picking the ball 3 times from Newark BC.

We caught up with Hawk’s Richardson to see how he felt the game went:

LincolnBasketball: You’ve notched your first win of the season against Newark BC - what do you think is the reason it’s taken this long to get into the Win column? 

Richardson: We’ve started the season with some new faces and lost some of our guys from last year. So with this turnover we have had to build chemistry and get used to the system we want to play with this personnel. It’s taken some reflection and we’ve learned from our losses. The score lines from our games reflect this, with each one being closer and now our first win. 

LincolnBasketball: Did you approach this game with a specific strategy, or did the plays simply fall into place?

Richardson: We knew we wanted to use our advantage as a generally younger team to run and outpace Newark, and I think this was most apparent in our active defense. More broadly we have been focussing on key principles of how we want to run our offense and defense and had some really productive training sessions which paid off in this win. 

LincolnBasketball: You’ve got a week off now to prepare to face the current leaders, Lightning - how are you going to prepare to face them?

Richardson:We will keep working on our offensive and defensive systems to sharpen them and get them drilled in. We have the proof now with this win that they work and we can trust them. We know Lightning are a disciplined and competitive squad and we need to meet them with the same energy. 

Hawks Highlights:

• B. Miles (#10) led the Hawks with 14 points, shooting 53.8% from the free-throw line (7-13), and contributed 7 rebounds.

• C. Amo (#7) scored 9 points, shooting 37.5% from two-point range, and added 2 steals and 3 rebounds.

• J. Davis (#24) added 7 points, shooting 100% from the free-throw line (1-1), while also pulling down 4 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists.

• D. Kidd (#26) contributed 6 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, showcasing a strong presence under the basket.

Newark BC Highlights:

• Rekstys (#24) led Newark BC with 13 points, shooting 66.7% from the free-throw line (4-6) and adding 4 rebounds.

• Mockus (#15) scored 8 points and led the team with 7 rebounds, while also making 1 steal.

• Stankys (#19) contributed 4 points, shooting a perfect 100% from two-point range (2-2), and added 10 rebounds and 1 steal.

• Taurinskas (#13) added 4 points, with 4 rebounds and 1 assist.

Team Performance:

• The Hawks shot 24.6% from the field overall and 50.0% from the free-throw line.

• Newark BC struggled offensively, shooting 24.4% from the field and 53.8% from the free-throw line.

• The Hawks led the game in rebounds with 32 total rebounds, compared to Newark BC’s 26.

• The Hawks showed defensive strength with 8 steals, forcing 20 turnovers from Newark BC.

Scoring by Quarter:

• Q1: Hawks 11, Newark BC 2

• Q2: Newark BC 20, Hawks 10

• Q3: Hawks 6, Newark BC 1

• Q4: Hawks 11, Newark BC 9

Final score: Hawks 38 - Newark BC 32