by Brian Turrel
The Harmon Hawks won Tuesday night’s game at home against the Bishop Ward Cyclones 66-50, controlling the game with their strong rebounding.
The future is bright for both teams with freshmen leading the way. Harmon’s talented duo Lonell Lane and Chauncey Keys each scored 21 for the game, and Mike Carson added 9. Ja’Ron Byrd led the Cyclones with 15 points. Senior Jordan Dominguez-Jones added 8 for Ward.
The Hawks had the advantage in the first quarter, breaking down Ward defensively and getting Lane and Keys inside for easy points. Harmon doubled up Ward 20-10 in the first quarter.
Ward rallied against the Harmon press in the second half, sending three players forward and shooting long outlet passes to get a brief offensive advantage. Ward had little margin for error. If the Cyclones failed to score on the initial break, Harmon’s defenders closed quickly to shut down their opportunity.
Harmon freshman Mike Reed hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send Harmon to halftime with a 32-24 lead.
Out of the break, Harmon stepped up its on-ball defense. Ward’s shots stopped falling, and Harmon’s rebounding advantage took over the game. On the other end, even when Ward disrupted the Harmon offense, the Hawks recovered the ball and scored on the second chance. Harmon broke the game open, outscoring Ward 25-9 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Cyclones got Pedro Galvez and Andres Torres open for three-point baskets with effective ball movement, but the margin was too much to overcome.
The non-conference win moves Harmon’s overall record to 4-8. The Hawks will play at home against the Wichita Defenders home school sports program on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Ward’s record drops to 0-12. They will play at Shawnee’s Maranatha Christian Academy on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
