Ice Taylor lived up to his name against University on March 3. The sophomore guard hit the game-tying floater for Hawken in a Division III district semifinal that helped send the game to overtime. Greg Price sank a pair of free throws and Taylor had a layup off a Steve Herron transition assist that made it a three-point Hawks lead with 24 seconds left. Tylar Robinson had a look at the top of the key to force a second overtime, but his shot went off the rim and Hawken advanced, 54-51. The Hawks will face Ursuline in a district final March 7 at Warren Harding. Coach Anthony Burns and the Hawks had to adjust quickly as Daron Hill went down with a leg injury in the opening minutes. They turned to a trio of young guards. Sophomore Lewi Walter and freshmen KJ St. Clair and Herron had extended minutes and were able to impact the game in a multitude of ways. “They were prepared for the moment,” Burns said. “They’ve been practicing with us all season, and they knew we were going to need them in the playoffs. It was part of the process, just developing them. We have veteran leadership guys who were able to settle them down and walk them through. They needed to just stay ready.” Fellow senior Price took Hill’s defensive role, guarding University’s leading scorer in Robinson. Hill hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the first that pushed the lead to five, but Carter Webb answered with a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor. Price knew coming in, it was going to be a physical game. The Hawks needed to find an answer to the Preppers’ 2-3 zone, as University had clamped in on the lanes for Hawken to drive. “The gamble and scramble they run works,” Price said. “I think it’s really different when you get in front of it. When we went to University this season, the crowd was smaller. They played a factor tonight, getting into the reads. It looks different when you’re out there on your own in practice. We still didn’t necessarily make the right reads, but we were able to move and find ways.” University took the lead after Aditya Nalla and Kingston Oliver both converted and-1 looks. But Hawken was able to keep finding ways to keep the game in reach. Charlie Mallett had a baseline drive and Walter had a layup that gave the lead back to Hawken before the half. The two sides traded layups in the opening minute of the third before a Price 3-pointer had the Hawks ahead. They had also cracked the code on the Preppers’ defense. Taylor hit a layup that was followed by a St. Clair 3-pointer and a put back by Mallett a few possessions later to cap a 7-0 run and make it 37-34 Hawken going to the fourth. The Hawks limited University to 11 3-point attempts. “In practice all week, we were working on denying,” Taylor said. “Making sure that Aditya, he had seven 3s last game, and Tylar, who had five, keying in on them. We were working on our closeouts a lot. If they shot the same as they did against Copley, we were going to be in trouble.” But University continued to strike back. Robinson and Oliver had drives to the bucket that tied the game. Robinson hit a stepback 3-pointer that gave University the lead and a drive to the hoop that made it 46-43 Preppers with three minutes left. But Burns remained composed. “It all starts at the top,” Burns said. “If I’m composed, they’re composed. I didn’t get out there, get out of character, screaming and fussing. I knew at the end of the day, we had the best player on the floor. And when you have that, you’re never out of the game.” Mallett had a score off the ensuing inbounds and Taylor had a floater fall that made it 47-46 Hawken. The game went to the extra frame tied at 48 with Nalla and Price trading layups to start the extra frame. Nalla split his free throw later in the frame before Price made a pair and Taylor’s floater fell. University coach Sean McDonnell is proud of the impact the senior class had on his program. “This was a really special group,” McDonnell said. “They were really connected, and I think that’s why this one stings so much. We tip our cap to Hawken, and they made it so we didn’t play our best tonight.” Mallett led the way for Hawken with 17 points and eight rebounds. Price had 14 points and nine boards while Taylor had 16 points. University was led by Robinson with 17 point, Oliver added 12 and Nalla had 10. THE SCORE (MARCH 3) Hawken 54, University 51 ...read more read less