Bo Eads hit a critical 3-pointer to give Gilman City a cushion against Grundy County Thursday, and the Hawks managed to survive a frantic Panther rally to win 38-36 to make it to the championship game of the HDC Tournament. The win was the first in 12 tries for the Hawks, who last beat Grundy County on February 9th, 2017 when they beat them 77-45 to win the consolation trophy of the HDC.
At first, it looked like the Hawks could do no wrong as Camden Griffith scored off a drive, Kenyon Puls hit a 3-pointer after Landon Preston skipped him the ball, and Preston added a 3-pointer to make it 8-0 just two minutes into the game.
But then Hunter Miller pulled up and hit two guarded threes to get Grundy right back into the game and make it 8-6. Camden Griffith hit a baseline three off a pass from Parker Virtue and Landon Preston scored off a steal to make it 13-6 as the Hawks built their lead back up.
Miller scored off a steal for the Panthers, but Griffith responded to make it 15-8. But then the rest of the supporting cast for Grundy County started connecting, and they cut down on their turnovers from the first quarter. Adrian Boren posted up and scored, while Preston Tovrea drove and scored. Kenyon Puls hit his second 3-pointer for the Hawks, only for Mason Rayl, who the Hawks were daring to shoot, to answer with one of his own to make it 18-15. Landon Preston drove around a Jace Estrada screen and Camden Griffith hit from the right wing to make it 23-15 before Rayl's free throws cut it to 23-17 at the half.
The difference between Thursday's game and several others the Hawks have played against good teams was that the Hawks did not fade this time coming out of the locker. They had led some good teams before, only to fade in the third quarter; this time, they bent but never lost the lead.
Kaleb Bower got on the board by cutting inside and flinging up a prayer that went in to spark the Panthers, and Miller hit a guarded NBA 3-pointer to make it 23-22. But then Kenyon Puls cut inside and scored off a pass from Parker Virtue and Camden Griffith got a putback to make it 27-22. Griffith's 3-pointer made it 30-24, but then Tovrea, normally a driver, pulled up and hit a 3-pointer and Miller went coast to coast to cut it to one again at 30-29.
Kenyon Puls got the Hawks back on track, hitting two free throws after grabbing an offensive board and then taking a charge on Adrian Boren, sending him to the bench with three fouls. Gilman City made two of their runs with him on the bench, once when he was shaken up after a collision with Parker Virtue and once during this stretch. Camden Griffith hit a shot from the right wing to make it 34-29 at the end of the third quarter.
Boren came back and Ryker Summers hit a free throw for Grundy County to cut it to 34-30 to start the fourth, but Bo Eads hit a corner three to give the Hawks some badly needed cushion. But the Panthers had a lot of fouls to give, with only Boren with more than one foul, so they could afford to be very aggressive on defense. And long slumps tend to die hard. Sure enough, Rayl cut inside and scored, Miller pulled up and hit a guarded NBA 3-pointer, and Bower got loose in transition to cut it to 37-36 with 2:04 left.
Gilman City, who had been slowing down the ball all quarter, got a runner from Landon Preston, but he missed and the Panthers had a chance to take the lead. But Camden Griffith chased Miller off a 3-point try, and Miller missed a runner with 1:11 left. The ball went out of bounds off Jace Estrada, but Bower traveled with 54 seconds left, letting Gilman City run the clock some more.
The Hawks dribbled the clock all the way down to 18 seconds, when Grundy County started using their fouls. They fouled four times in rapid succession, finally getting Landon Preston on the line with 5 seconds left. Preston missed the first shot but made the second to make it 38-36.
Grundy County had to inbound and go the length of the floor to tie or win it. Camden Griffith and another Hawk faceguarded Hunter Miller, who tried to curl as the Panthers tried to air it out. But they burned their last timeout right before the pass, which went astray, was thrown. This time, they tried to set a pick for Miller, only for the Hawks to jump it and force Miller to catch it well in the backcourt. Before Miller could turn and dribble, Camden Griffith knocked the ball loose. Miller recovered it after a scramble but only had time for a full court heave at the buzzer.
Camden Griffith had 16 points. Kenyon Puls, playing his best game since the first North Harrison game in January, added 10. Landon Preston had 9 and Bo Eads 3. Camden Griffith had 11 boards to complete a double-double.
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