For the Tomahawk Leader

TOMAHAWK – The Tomahawk Hatchet boys’ basketball team hosted the Medford Raiders in a Great Northern Conference (GNC) matchup on Friday, Dec. 16 and fell by a score of 88-33.

The Raiders were favored in the matchup, returning the conference player of the year from last year, and took it to the Hatchets early with their full-court pressure defense and three-point shooting. The Raiders jumped out to a 54-10 halftime lead.

Coach Jacob Jarvensivu said the Hatchets battled and played much better in the second half, but nonetheless ended up losing to their GNC opponents.

Tomahawk was led in scoring by Joey Rieter, who had eight points. 

“I thought that we did a really good job in the second half making an adjustment to their pressure defense,” Jarvensivu stated. “They are so long and athletic, and it’s really hard to compete at that level in practice without the tall and athletic people to simulate it. I thought that we listened to adjustments and executed at a much higher level.”

Jarvensivu noted that the Hatchets turned the ball over 19 times in the first half, but limited giveaways to only six in the second half, which was “another big positive.”

“I hope we can use some of the positives from this game to springboard us into our nonconference action next week and over the holiday break,” Jarvensivu said.

Tomahawk is slated to host Marion on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

The Hatchet hoopsters will travel Almond Bancroft High School next week to take part in a two-day tournament, with games getting underway at 2 p.m. both Tuesday, Dec. 27 and Wednesday, Dec. 28.