The Southwestern League heated up Friday night as the Nighthawks lost to Great Oak in a heart-wrenching two-point loss.
The Wolfpack is perfect against the defending champions, having defeated Murrieta Valley 54-39 earlier in the season.
Great Oak brought their swag into town and got off to a fast start, taking a 13-7 lead in the first quarter. The Nighthawks came roaring back in the second and the game was gridlocked 29-28 at the half.
Evenly matched, the Wolfpack battled the Nighthawks in the second half. They finally seized control of the game and pulled away in the final minute. Murrieta Valley was outscored by a single point in both halves.
At any level of play fundamentals are essential for victory. The game was lost at the free-throw line Friday night. The Nighthawks failed to execute and missed eight out of 18 scoring opportunities at the charity stripe.
Murrieta Valley was led by Kevin Padlo’s 18-point performance. Mitchell Lenhart scored 11 while Talon Watkins and Tyler Bilton both scored six. Jordan Williams had four points, Reid Bohanan two and Jacob Forte one.
The Nighthawks will travel to Azusa Pacific University to take on Colony Saturday. They will face Murrieta Mesa next week. The Rams beat Chaparral 66-49 Friday night to improve to 4-2 in league play and are tied for first place with Great Oak. The Nighthawks are 3-3.
