Hawks Suffer Defeat in Final Non-League Game

WEST PHILADELPHIA - Gonzaga (DC) defeated St. Joseph’s Prep 56-43 on Sunday. The Hawks and the Eagles battled tightly for the first few quarters, but a multitude of turnovers and the inability to deal with Gonzaga big man, Dave Mbuyamba ‘28, inside the paint led to the Hawks' demise in the game. Gonzaga is the number three-ranked team in Washington, DC, and they have played a lot of teams in the Pennsylvania area, such as Bonner-Prendie and Malvern Prep.

The first quarter started with a nice deflection from Myles Peterson of the Hawks, and it was a sign of things to come for him as he was very aggressive on the defensive end. Gonzaga would put that play behind them, and they would find Dylan Higginbotham for a three. The Prep answered quickly with two free throws by Justin McKie and a drive-by by Will Lesovitz to make the lead 4-3 Hawks with 6:40 remaining. Mbuyamba would get going quickly for Gonzaga as he was able to retake the lead for the Eagles. Both teams would exchange baskets, and Julian McKie would get his first three-pointer of the game with 3:30 remaining. He tied the game at nine. Gonzaga would take the lead once again, which was highlighted by Patrick Shime making a three-pointer and scoring down in the post. The first quarter ended with the Eagles leading 16-13. 

Julian started the Hawks right in the second quarter as he came in at the right time to make a put-back layup. Julian would continue his dominance as he made two free throws to take the lead and a tough euro-step layup to give the Prep a three-point lead. TJ Farrington took the momentum right back for Gonzaga as he nailed a three on the left wing on the very next possession. Mbuyamba continued his reign of terror as he backed down two Hawks defenders to take a 21-19 lead with 4:31 remaining. The Eagles would continue to go on a run that was 11-0 before Julian ended it with a layup with 1:27 to go. The Hawks were able to gain some momentum going into the break as Lesovitz finished between two Eagles to end the half. Gonzaga led 28-23 going into halftime.

The third quarter did not start how the Hawks would have liked to. Axton Scott drilled a three for Gonzaga, which opened the lead to eight. Lesovitz then made a free throw, and Peterson hit a three, but Gonzaga would continue to score as Chase Peterson made a double-clutched layup on the next possession. As stated, the Hawks were scoring the ball, but so was Peterson as he made the Eagles lead nine after an and-one opportunity. Lesovitz would go 2/4 from the line in two trips as Gonzaga led 42-33 over the Prep with 1:43 remaining. Mbuyamba continued to be a problem as he got to the line and made a free throw. The Prep would still answer as Justin got an and one opportunity and made his free throw, but Shime would do the same thing as he made a contested layup to keep the lead at nine as the quarter ended with Gonzaga leading 45-36 over the Prep.

The fourth quarter was not the best for the Prep, as Gonzaga only scored nine points, but they restricted the Prep from scoring the basketball. Mbuyamba started the quarter by grabbing an offensive rebound and getting an and-one. After making the free throw, Gonzaga got a stop, and Mbuyamba made another basket. Mbuyamba was not done, as on the next offensive possession, he rolled off of Justin and made a turnaround layup. Coach Chris Clark took a timeout for the Hawks as they were down 52-38 with 6:00 to go. There was not much scoring from that point on as Julian was able to make some free throws, but it was not enough. The Hawks put everything they had into this game, but Gonzaga walked away with the victory. 

Julian finished the game with 17 points on 5/12 shooting, and that led the team. The Hawks fall to 5-5 on the season and will take on Bonner-Prendie on Monday. This moves the Hawks back into league play for the remainder of the regular season, and they finish their out-of-league schedule with a 4-4 record. The Prep previously got a 69-62 win over Conwell-Egan to start their Philadelphia Catholic season with a 1-0 record.