The Armstrong River Hawks (6-6, 2-2) boys varsity basketball team was able to bounce back from a tough 38-31 loss at Gateway (5-6, 4-0) with a big win at home against Franklin Regional (6-7, 1-3) - winning by 20+ points, 65-44.
by Jake DeLuca
The Armstrong River Hawks (6-6, 2-2) boys varsity basketball team earned a victory on Friday night against a section opponent in the Franklin Regional Panthers (6-7, 1-3), defeating the Panthers 65-44.
Armstrong won the tip-off and just 8-seconds into the game Joe McCanna hit the first of his four made three-pointers in the game followed by a 3 from Mike Kunst to open the first quarter with a 6-2 lead.
The Panthers survived the early three point barrage in the first quarter to tie the game heading in to the second quarter, 12-12.
In the second quarter McCanna hit two more three pointers for 6 of Armstrong 16 second quarter points. Heading into half-time the River Hawks pulled ahead a bit, leading 28-22.
The River Hawks hit their stride in the third quarter, both offensively and defensively. In the third quarter Armstrong outscored Franklin Regional 17-5.
After the game Armstrong’s Joe McCanna talked about getting separation and what the ability to knock down the three point shot can do for his team.
“I think our separation came from our strong defense and our solid rebounding also slowing the game down and just playing our style of basketball. I think it (being able to hit the 3) starts to open up the middle of the floor, it energizes our team and gives us that momentum that we need to get going,” McCanna said.
The River Hawks would ride their lead until the end, defeating the Panthers by a final score of 65-44.
After the game River Hawks Head Coach Greg Hutcherson was happy their game-plan was effective.
“We saw that Franklin Regional and they gave up a ton of points, so we thought we could attack them and outscore them tonight and if we just stayed solid defensively we could get the win and we executed that perfectly tonight,” Hutcherson said.
Nate Baillie lead all River Hawks with 17 points, while Joe McCanna sprinkled in 14 points including four first half three-pointers.
The River Hawks will travel to Kiski Area Tuesday to take on the Cavaliers, winners of three straight. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM.