Hawks can't keep pace with WB

WEST BURLINGTON – Central Lee Head Coach Jonny Swanson knew his Hawks were up against it Thursday night.
But the Hawks, who had won 8 of 10 games headed into their match with West Burlington in the Class 2A District 9 semifinals, hung around as long as they could before falling 75-57, ending the season at 13-10.
Central Lee came out on fire opening a 5-0 lead on a 10-foot floater from Brayden Wyrick in the lane. And then a miss by the Falcons turned into a 3-ball from Carson Morrison, all in the first 30 seconds.
Then the proverbial lid was on as the Hawks missed their next eight shots and West Burlington, behind eight points from senior Mason Watkins, rushed out to a 14-5 lead. The Hawks really didn’t encroach on that lead for the rest of the game, but stayed even throughout the first half.
Wyrick scored four more before the end of the first period around a Brett Cook bucket and the Hawks trailed 19-11 at the end of one.
Sophomore Kaden Swan buried a 3-ball from the left wing to cut the lead to five at 19-14 and the squads would battle through the first half, with West Burlington holding leads of up to nine.
At the 2:46 mark of the second quarter, Will Hayes scored off a blocked shot to cut the lead to four at 25-21. The Falcons would get two buckets unanswered before Hayes scored again on a short jumper in the lane. Watkins would finish the half with a three-pointer from the left side for a 32-23 halftime score.
Central Lee was having some success using the 6’6” Hayes in the middle against the shorter Falcons, so West Burlington Head Coach Cody Van Fleet moved Ayden Figuereo over to guard Hayes out of the break.

Hayes still finished with 22 points to lead the Hawks, but had a bit more trouble with Figuereo. The bigger problem was the Falcons' shooting prowess in the third quarter that opened up an 18-point lead with 3:55 remaining in the period.
The Falcons hit 10 of 15 or 66% from the field in the third, including five three-pointers. Owen Swan finished the quarter with a bucket and a freethrow.
“That third quarter was nuts. We held them to 32 in the first half and felt like we were doing pretty good and then they come out in the third and score 27. They were shooting lights out,” Swanson said.
That shooting spree opened up a 15-point lead headed into the fourth quarter. Central Lee would claw back with some defensive stops and limited the Falcons to just one offensive rebound in the period. A scoop bucket by Hayes in the lane with 2:50 left in the game cut the lead to 10 at 63-53, but Watkins would hit a 3-ball to answer and start a 9-0 run that put the game out of reach.
“We tried our best. Offensively, 57 points is kind of where we fall in line with most of our games. We average that I think, but against a team like this, you have to be in the 70 or plus range. We talked all week about trying to keep them below 70, but they’re hard to stop,” Swanson said.
“They are a really good team and they are well-coached.”
The Hawks lose just one senior in Brayden Wyrick, but will return six of their top seven in the rotation and are coming off a stellar jayvee season. Will Hayes will look to lead the Hawks from the post position next season. Swanson said the junior has “skyrocketed” in the second half of the season.
“If you look at him from the first half to the second half, he’s skyrocketed in his ability to score and rebound. He’s made huge jumps this year and is probably our best player at getting to the rim.”
Wyrick finished with 13 for Central Lee.