WARREN — Hawken leaned on its backcourt Wednesday night, and Greg Price and Ice Taylor delivered in a big way.
The guard duo combined for 58 points to lead the Hawks to a 72-59 win over Ursuline in the Division III Northeast District 2 championship game at Warren G. Harding High School.
With one of Hawken’s top scorers sidelined, the Hawks knew the offense would have to come from somewhere else.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality,” said Hawken head coach Anthony Burns. “They knew we were going to be missing maybe 16 to 20 points from Daron (Hill), so the scoring had to be picked up from somebody. They looked at Daron before the game and said, ‘I got you.’
“When I heard that and saw it, I knew we were going to have a big game from those two guys. I didn’t think it would be both of them going like that, but when they were, we were a tough team to beat.”
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Taylor got Hawken going early, knocking down a floater and a 3-pointer. Price followed with a three of his own, and Taylor later set up Charlie Mallett for a basket as the teams battled to a 10-10 tie.
Ursuline answered with a 6-0 run before Lewi Walter halted the surge with a four-point play, though Hawken still trailed 16-14.
The Hawks took control in the second quarter behind Price, who poured in 12 points in the period. Taylor added seven more as Hawken carried a 33-29 lead into halftime.
Taylor took over after the break.
The senior guard erupted for 15 points in the third quarter, pushing Hawken’s lead to 52-42 heading into the final period.
“I was able to step up,” Taylor said. “Greg told me this was the game he needed me the most because we knew how much Ursuline wanted to win and get revenge. Daron was out, and Greg was by himself, so I wanted to step up to the challenge.”
Hawken extended its lead in the fourth quarter behind Walter, who scored twice inside, while Price added eight points to help seal the 72-59 victory and the district title.
The win also carried some added meaning.
A year earlier, Hawken eliminated Ursuline in an 84-66 Division IV district semifinal, and the Fighting Irish entered Wednesday’s matchup looking for revenge. Instead, the Hawks delivered another strong performance to punch their ticket back to the regional tournament.
“It was nothing but grit and fight,” Burns said. “We had to do it for our brother. When he went down, a lot of people counted us out, and it gave us some fuel to the fire. We put defense first and lived on it, and it led to a big win.”
While Price and Taylor carried the scoring load, Hawken’s defensive presence came from Kene Obi.
After seeing little action earlier in the week, Obi stepped up with a strong performance in the paint.
“The entire coaching staff is always preaching for us to stay ready,” Obi said. “We’re still playing basketball every day even if you aren’t playing on game day. KJ St. Clair and Steve Herron were ready against University after having more did-not-plays than games played. It’s the same mentality all the time. We’re a deep team, and that comes from how we practice and our dedication day to day.”
Taylor finished with a game-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting, while Price added 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Walter chipped in eight points, Mallett scored four and added two steals, and Obi contributed six rebounds and two blocks.
Hawken now turns its attention to Chaney in the Division III Region 9 semifinal on March 11 at Medina High School.
“We have practice tomorrow,” Burns said. “We’re not done yet.”
