Hawks claim 20th victory, remain unbeaten in IPC
FAIRBURY — It's not easy being the hunted, and third-ranked Prairie Central is finding that out. The Hawks were finally able to put Tolono (Unity) away Friday night with a 45-36 decision.
The win moves Prairie Central to 20-2 on the season and 6-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference. It was the second time in a month that the Hawks were able to handle the Rockets.
This time, however, it was a little more difficult.
“We're going to get everybody's best shot,” PC head coach Darin Bazzell said afterward. “We're really focused on trying to win conference and so that was a big win for us. They play hard, they play tough, they play physical and we matched that.”
Prairie Central has been taking shots since starting conference play. But the Hawks have been able to take them. After Friday's win, PC has garnered four league victories against three of the top four teams challenging it for IPC supremacy.
The first time these two teams played, the Hawks were coming off an injury to Drew Haberkorn that has left the senior on the bench for the last month. Levi Goad has also been out of action all month.
Still, when it comes to key games, the Hawks have been winning. They've been doing so with a solid core, but also with some key players off the bench.
Among the regulars, Drew Fehr has been a solid contributor with an added scoring touch that has become important. He finished this game in a tie for game-high honors with 16 points.
“He's just a tough-nosed kid who never backs down,” Bazzell said of Fehr. “He does all the dirty work.”
Dylan Bazzell has been a target for opposing defenses but he managed 16 points against Unity, matching Fehr for honors. This after matching a gymnasium record 29 points at Monticello earlier in the week.
Where Prairie Central has really picked up is the bench. Gage Steidinger was a reserve until Goad went down. Since then, he has been steady. On this night, Steidinger battled inside and was solid on the defensive end, drawing praise from his coach.
“Gage Steidinger had a really phenomenal game,” Bazzell said. “He played with that toughness that we hadn't seen out of him. He got in there and mixed it up on the backboard.”
The hope for the Hawks is to have Haberkorn and Goad back before the end of the regular season so they can get back up to speed for the postseason. When they do comeback, Prairie Central is looking to be that much better and certainly much deeper.
One area that's pretty good now will look to improve when PC is at full strength. That would be the defense. The effort on Friday is an example of what the coaching staff is looking to have.
“I'm really happy with our defensive effort, giving up 36 points, that's a phenomenal job,” Bazzell said.
Of Tolono's 36 points for the game, only 16 came in the second half. The Rockets only made three shots in the third period, but they were all 3-pointers.
Steidinger and Dylan Bazzell each hit a trey in the third for the Hawks, who scored 13 points in the frame. These were the only triples for Prairie Central on the night.
“We're not an offense that depends on 3-point shooting,” Coach Bazzell said. “That isn't what makes us go. We really do concentrate on getting the ball into the paint. Of we can do that consistently, we'll get good shots, open shots and they'll fall.”
That's where Fehr came in. The Hawks were able to penetrate and kick, as well as rebound and attack the basket. Each of the field goals made by Prairie Central in the first quarter came on shots from close range. Fehr scored the last eight in the quarter as PC took an 11-9 lead.
Everything made from the field in the second period was also from close range. Steidinger got a steal in the backcourt and got a layup out of it. Bazzell made a move on the low post, hit short jumper in the paint and tossed in an off-balanced leaner as PC led 23-20 at the half.
The inside game was working, but a little taste of scoring from the outside was welcome in trying to keep the inside available. Fehr hit from 19 feet and Steidinger added his 3-pointer as the Hawks pushed their lead to 32-23. It looked like the home team was ready to shut the door on its guests.
But the Rockets weren't ready to leave. A pair of treys brought the margin to three points in the last two minutes of the quarter. Although the Hawks answered with a free throw and a 3-pointer from Bazzell for a 36-29 lead by the end of the frame. Prairie Central entered the homestretch knowing Tolono was capable making a late run.
The Rockets did cut the deficit to 38-34 with 2:50 to go, but the Hawks were able to withstand the threat/ Tyler Curl, who missed a huge portion of the first half due to foul trouble, drained 5 of 6 free throws in the final 50 seconds to shut the door.
Besides the 16 points each from Bazzell and Fehr, the Hawks got 7 points from Curl, 5 from Steidinger and 1 point from Avery Elder.
Henry Thomas and Will Cowan each scored 10 points to pace Tolono (13-10, 3-2).
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Hawks claim 20th victory, remain unbeaten in IPC
