NDCL threw a lot of looks at Hawken in their Jan. 11 matchup. But nothing the Lions did made a dent in their double-digit deficit. That was until they found the kitchen sink. The Lions held Hawken to single digits in the fourth quarter. Coupled with big shots from Angelo Tamburrino and Connor Hernan, that led to a 58-56 victory. NDCL improved to 8-3 while Hawken fell to 9-5. The Hawks jumped to an 11-2 lead and forced an early NDCL timeout. Greg Price hit a pair of 3-pointers to help build the early advantage. Hawken connected on six 3s in the first half — three from Price, two from Ice Taylor and one from David Grajzl. The Hawks’ big three of Price, Taylor and Da’Ron Hill combined for 27 of their 36 points in the first half. NDCL coach Steve Steinmetz, filling in for Pat Vuyancih, who’s out with an illness, said the Lions needed to rotate better to limit Hawken’s looks. “The three kids that led them are great basketball players,” Steinmetz said. “They are a nightmare for any team that plays them. They can score from deep or on the drive. We were losing them in the first half and they were getting their shots. Credit to Angelo who played amazing defense on Greg in the second half to take him away and we did a good job of knowing where Ice was in the second half.” NDCL was still in the game with Connor Hernan’s 13 first-half points. But the Lions needed another player to step in and provide points. Luke Keep stepped up to the challenge and found his voice on the drive and from beyond the arc. His eight first-half points and early success in the third quarter kept NDCL in the contest. “Luke was really able to keep us in it,” Steinmetz said. “They were hitting shots coming out of the second half still and he kept matching them. So many of our guys played great roles and I can’t wait to go back and show them that in the film. But Luke was able to hit huge shots, he hit almost every shot he saw in that third.” That also took some of the focus off of Connor Hernan down low and allowed him to get easier rebounds and put-back looks. He finished with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds. “We’re a mentally tough group,” Connor Hernan said. “That’s how all of our personalities meshed together and came to be like that. We know when the cards are down, we can still win and that’s been our mentality all the way through.” But Hawken’s lead remained at 10 going to the fourth. That’s when NDCL found its offensive rhythm. Ryan Lipowski and Connor Hernan cut the lead to five. Then a Tamburrino 3 bounced off the back of the rim and fell in the bucket for NDCL’s first lead with just over three minutes left. NDCL held Hawken to four rebounds in the second half, while Connor Hernan had eight by himself. “The mindset is that anything can happen,” Connor Hernan said. “We could go on a 20-point run like we have at times this year. It happens all the time and we’re familiar with this territory. We’re an experienced team and that let us know that we were still in the game.” But Hawken battled back and a Jordan Johnson drive gave the Hawks a 54-53 lead with 2:34 left. The sides traded trips to the free-throw line and Hawken led, 56-55, with 54 seconds left. Next possession, Brendan Hernan found Connor Hernan for the lead to go back to the Lions. A travel was called on Hawken on the next possession that gave the ball back to the Lions. Mason Pesho made one of his two free throws after a foul and Connor Hernan got a rebound after a Price miss. “We switched our defense and limited them to one shot,” Steinmetz said. “We have the physical kids, I can’t say enough about how they battled today. They wanted it, it’s all about how badly they wanted to win in that second half. I’m proud of everyone all the way through with the effort.” Price led Hawken with 22 points and Taylor added 10. NDCL returns home for a contest with Geneva on Jan. 14. Hawken hosts Chagrin Falls on Jan. 17 in a return to CVC play.