Hawks crush Pittsburg, 87-30, in district game

TEXARKANA, Texas — Pleasant Grove was a Ferrari and Pittsburg was a Pinto as the Hawks outperformed the Pirates in all aspects of the game.

Pleasant Grove fired on all cylinders and sped past Pittsburg, 87-30, in a District 15-4A boys varsity basketball game at Hawk Gym on Tuesday.

“I thought we bounced back from our win against Paris, and we didn’t play down to the competition,” Hawks head coach Dwight McCowan said. “We kept up the heat and that is what we wanted to do.

“I was pleased with our transition, and we shared the ball really well. We finished every possession and suffocated them early on; that is what we wanted to do.”

Pleasant Grove (12-5, 5-0) played souped up and hit on 32 of 59 shots (54 percent from the field), while the Pirates, in need of a tune up, sunk just 10 of 34 shots for 29 percent.

The Hawks had 18 turnovers in the game compared to 37 for Pittsburg. Tre Stuart led Pleasant Grove in rebounding with seven as the Hawks outrebounded the Pirates, 31-19.

Stuart led all scorers with 17 points, including three shots from downtown, for Pleasant Grove. T’vondrick Henry finished with 13 points, while

Kennon Kelley and Torey Phillips each had 10 for the Hawks.

Pleasant Grove outscored Pittsburg in every quarter, including a 20-12 tilt in the fourth. Stuart knocked down three shots from 3-point land to lead the charge. Phillips scored six of his 10 points in the final stanza.

The entire third quarter was a 24-10 run for the Hawks. Torion Phillips made a dazzling play toward the end of the third. Torion Phillips drove the lane, faked a behind-theback pass and hit a layup as the defender stood puzzled.

Pleasant Grove shot 58 percent from the field in the first half on 15-of-26 shooting. Pittsburg knocked down 3 of 13 shots (23 percent from the field).

The Hawks forced 23 Pirate turnovers in the first half and committed just nine. Pleasant Grove went into the locker room with a 43-8 edge.

Six different players scored for the Hawks in the second as PG outscored Pittsburg, 17-6. Stuart and Torion Phillips each led the way with four points for the Hawks. Teammates Matt Angier and Whitt Lawrence each connected on a 3-pointer.

Henry poured in 12 points in the first quarter to lead all scorers. Brett Carmony added a pair of treys, and the Hawks were up big, 26-2, after the first.

Jackson Gibson led all scorers with 13 points as Pleasant Grove won the junior varsity contest, 58-22. Jaylen Boardley scored 10 points for the Hawks.

Pleasant Grove hosts cross-town rival Liberty-Eylau at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.