Flat start to 2nd half spells doom for Hawks

Three straight 3-pointers sink River Hill’s title hopes as Bulldogs take command

COLLEGE PARK — River Hill’s boys basketball team knows the importance of coming out strong in the second half. Just six days ago, in the Class 2A South final against Thomas Stone, the Hawks began the third quarter on a 13-0 run they carried until the final buzzer to secure their first region title in more than a decade.

But the script flipped in River Hill’s 62-48 state semifinal loss to North Caroline on Friday night. Leading, 28-27, at the break, the Hawks allowed three unanswered 3-pointers in as many possessions, allowing North Caroline to build a comfortable lead it maintained with timely long-distance jumpers and near flawless free throw shooting down the stretch.

Meanwhile, the Hawks (21-5) attempted six fouls shots, shot 13 percent (3-for-23) from behind the arc and committed 19 turnovers.

“We did a lot of uncharacteristic things,” coach Matt Graves said. “Our turnovers weren’t good, a lot of quick possessions. We did build a little bit of momentum to kind of fight back … but they hit some threes that kind of took the wind out of our sails and they made free throws.”

The Hawks also had no answer for Joey Adams in the final two periods after the senior guard, who averages 24 points per game, scored just seven points in the opening half. Adams (game-high 29 points) exceeded that total in the first five minutes in the third quarter alone and scored 11 in the period. And with North Caroline holding a 41-33 advantage entering the fourth, he drilled another long ball before icing the game by hitting his last eight foul shots.

The Bulldogs advance to the Class 2A state championship, where they will play Lake Clifton in a game set for today at 6 p.m. at Xfinity Center in College Park.

River Hill received a combined 32 points from their senior guard duo of Jacob Krause and Jaden Martin, though each player underwent their own struggles. Krause usually shoots 42 percent from three-point range but made one of his seven shots from deep on Friday night. Martin missed each of his four 3-pointers and committed nine turnovers, many of which came on traveling calls with the Hawks trying to mount a second-half comeback.

“Shots weren’t falling, and you’re going to have days like that,” Martin said. “And we just had to find another way to score, and we just couldn’t get into a rhythm.”

“Our effort was there for most of the game,” Krause added. “We just couldn’t finish shots and finish possessions.”