Hawks put scare into state-ranked Sanger
Prior to the Christmas holidays, Iowa Park Hawk basketball Coach Tim Clark – faced with player suspensions that shrunk his squad down to nine players – opted for a slow down offense, and the ultra-conservative, slow-as-molasses style drew boo’s from the opposing fans, and wins for his team.

Tuesday night at home, the veteran Hawk coach displayed his penchant for constantly adjusting his team to optimize the capabilities of its players, turning the tempo up in a selective fashion and playing pressing man defense that put a scare into ninth-ranked Sanger before the visitors prevailed 60-52.

“We are running a ball control offense, where we are actually being very selective and patient on our possessions,” Clark said afterwards. “We did a decent job.”

Sanger led by only one, 10-9, after the first period, and outscored the Hawks 14-11 in the second to take a four-point lead into intermission.

Sanger outscored the Hawks 22-15 in the third for a 46-35 lead, and the Hawks closed the gap in the fourth by three, 17-14.

“We kept it there (four-point differential) for the most part,” Clark noted. “Take away a few turnovers and a few kids being in foul trouble, we actually played pretty good. I think we out-hustled them.”

Accurate shooting from the three-point range kept Iowa Park in the contest, with the Hawks recording a season-high seven 3’s with three from Matt Rodgers (12 points total), two from Reid Hayley (who finished with 10), and two from Lee Clubb (six points total).

Also scoring for the Hawks were Richard Smoak and Chase Lawson with nine points each, and Jesse Harris with four.

“Coming into the game, they had two players that, between the two of them, had shot 330 three-pointers, and they had made four times as many three’s as us” said Clark of Sanger. “We made seven three’s and they made five. I felt good with that. I think our man pressure defense kind of helped with that.

“It’s very similar to what Burk is going to do,” Clark added, referring to tomorrow night’s 5-3A opener against the Bulldogs. “Burk shoots a lot of three’s, and they like to get up and down the floor. Sanger is not near as athletic as Burk. Burk will apply more pressure.”

DISTRICT STARTS
“The game was a good measuring stick, to see if we can play with folks like that,” Clark said of the final preseason match against Sanger.

Tomorrow night District 5-3A play begins with a bang, with the state’s second-ranked Burkburnett Bulldogs invading Hawk Gym for the conference opener (5:15 frosh, 6:30 JV, 8 varsity).

“We will work this week on the ball pressure that Burk is going to put on us. It is completely different than any team we’ll play, because they are so athletic,” Clark said of the talented Bulldogs. “If we can handle the ball and keep from turning the ball over, I can see us doing OK against Burk.

“We’ll have to take care of the ball,” he added. “That’s a big key for our Burk game.”

Friday’s preseason finale against Sanger gave Clark reason to believe he’s on the right track with this year’s Hawks. “I’m very pleased with the effort of my team in the Sanger game,” he said. “If we’ll have that kind of effort through district, we will have a shot.”

Tuesday night, the Hawks will travel to Vernon for their second 5-3A match. Clark said this year’s district games will be competitive throughout. “We will have to play every night in our district. Anyone can beat anyone every night. So we have to show up and play them.”

As for his current offense going into district, Clark said, “We are being selectiv eon our possessions, and being selective with our shots. It’s not necessarily as much a slow down right now as just being real cautious ... not trying to turn the ball over ... but then again, when they give you something, take advantage of it. It’s a mindset I’m trying to get into the kids.

“It’s ok for us.”

JV, FROSH GAMES
The JV Hawks lost 53-26 to Sanger Friday night. Corde DeWeese led Iowa Park with nine points, while Jose Nieto and Eric Gentry each added four.

In the freshman game, Iowa Park lost 66-15 to Sanger, with four points each scored by Josh Nolen and Justin Persick.