Hawks build lead, hold on for win over Atlanta

TEXARKANA, Texas — Pleasant Grove built a 21-point lead, saw it go down to a 2-point lead in the fourth, and rallied late to defeat Atlanta, 68-61, in a boys varsity basketball game on Tuesday at Hawk Gym.

“It was a tale of two different halves,” Hawks head coach Craig Collvins said. “I thought we played well in the first half and built a commanding lead. We started out OK in the second half. Atlanta caught fire. We didn’t defend well from the arc and we have stuff to work on. We are trying to mix some guys in and figure out lineups. I know it’s going to get better. I wish we could have just taken control and done more smart things. Overall, they finished the right way and we got the win; that’s always good.”

Pleasant Grove totaled 13, 3-pointers, with Whitt Lawrence knocking down four. Lawrence and teammate Cade Cohen each finished with a teamhigh 12 points.

“If someone would have told me that Pleasant Grove was going to come in and make 13 threes, I would have thought that we’d be in real big trouble,” Rabbits head coach Jarrod Boston said. “The kids battled. I told them at halftime to keep battling. It was 41-20 at halftime and at one point it was 63-61. I am not unhappy about that.”

Alex Boston had a double-double for Atlanta with a game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds. Aidan Boston added 10 points for the Rabbits.

Atlanta went on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to make it a 63-61 game. Alex Boston scored 9 of those points on a layup, a pair of charity shots, A 6-foot jumper and a 3-ball.

Pleasant Grove scored the last five points of the game to clinch it. Kason Wright drove in for a layup to give the Hawks a 65-61 edge. Cohen hit a pair of free throws and Torian Phillips hit a charity shot down the stretch.

The third quarter was closely contested with the Rabbs narrowly outscoring the Hawks, 18-16. Alex Boston scored 12 points in the third for Atlanta.

The Hawks shot 40.3 percent from the field (25 of 62) and the Rabbits made 46.1 percent of their shots (24 of 52). Pleasant Grove outrebounded Atlanta, 41-31, and had one fewer turnover, 14-13.

Pleasant Grove went into the locker room at halftime with a 41-20 lead. The Hawks shot 45.5 percent from the field in the first half on 15-of-33 shooting.

Atlanta hit on 9 of 24 shots in the first half for a 37.5 field goal percent.

Cohen knocked down two shots from 3-point land in the first quarter, while teammates Wright and Lawrence each had a trey.

Aidan Boston paced Atlanta in the first quarter with five points, which came via a traditional 3-point play and a 4-foot jump shot. The Hawks held a 20-14 edge after the first quarter.

Pleasant Grove went on a 14-0 run midway through the second quarter. During the run, Brenton Clark and Lawrence each swished in a pair of shots from downtown.

The Hawks outscored the Rabbs, 21-6, in the second quarter. Kennon Kelley scored 10 points for PG and pulled down 9 boards.

Jackson Gibson swished in 13 points, a game high, to lead Pleasant Grove’s junior varsity to a 55-42 win.

Kheaton Kinney led the Rabbits with 12 points, while teammate Elijah Riojas scored 11.