For the Tomahawk Leader
MARION – The Tomahawk Hatchet boys’ basketball team traveled to Marion and took part in a holiday tournament in Montello late last month.
Marion
Tomahawk played the Marion Mustangs on Tuesday, Dec. 21 in Marion.
Marion came out in a 2-3 zone that made the Hatchets settle for a lot of perimeter shots in the first half. Those perimeter shots never found the net, however, as the Hatchets went 0-15 on three-point field goals in the first half, and Marion took a 27 to 15 lead into the locker room at halftime.
To start the second half, Tomahawk finally got some shots to fall and picked up the defensive intensity to propel them on a 23-2 run to take a lead that they would not relinquish.
The Hatchets ultimately earned a 50 to 40 win after outscoring the Mustangs 35-13 in the second half.
The Hatchets were led in scoring by Tyler Welke with 22 points. Gavyn Palmer chipped in 14.
“This was a really good win for our guys and shows that we have some resiliency,” head coach Jacob Jarvensivu said after the game. “A lot of teams would quit after missing the first 15 threes of the game, but we kept playing hard, and it paid off.”
Montello
The Hatchets faced off against Montello in nonconference holiday tournament action on Tuesday, Dec. 28. Tomahawk was coming off their first victory of the season versus the Marion Mustangs on the Tuesday before the holiday and was looking to continue that momentum into the tournament.
The Hatchets came out and set the tone early with a fast-paced game and took a 37 to 29 lead into the halftime locker room. The second half was more of the same for the Hatchets, as they continued their torrid pace offensively, led by Tyler Jablonski with 22 points and Tyler Welke, who had 21.
Tomahawk finished the game with a 13 to 2 run to a final score of 69 to 45.
“I thought we played really well offensively for the entire game for the first time all year,” Jarvensivu stated. “Defensively, we had some trouble containing their ball handlers in the first half, and I thought we gave up too many easy baskets, but it’s nice to have errors in a game that we win, and we can still get better with a win on the board.”
Fall River
After the win versus Montello, the Hatchets went into the championship game versus Fall River.
After shooting the ball very well against Montello the day before, the Hatchets could not seem to find any answers offensively. They limped into halftime down 23 to 14 and just couldn’t seem to find any ways to score the basketball on a consistent level. The second half was more of the same, and Fall River ended up winning the game 46 to 30.
The Hatchets finished shooting 25% from the field and were led in scoring by Tyler Welke, who had 12 points.
“I thought we actually played a pretty good game,” Jarvensivu stated after the game. “We had some good looks in the first and second halves, and we just weren’t able to get them to fall. Credit to Fall River for their aggressive defense. They just made more shots today.”
The Hatchets were set to host Lakeland on Tuesday, Jan. 4. On Friday, Jan. 7, Tomahawk will travel to Antigo for a game that starts at 7 p.m.