The Hawks’ Nest at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School is quiet and empty for the first time in months. The Hawks finished their varsity basketball season Saturday night with the second annual Hawk Classic Invitational Round Robin Tournament.
The Hawks earned a championship and runner-up trophy to add to their case. The TCPS athletic department began hosting the Hawk Classic last year as a means to offer an end of year championship tournament for their varsity teams. The Lady Hawks won first place in the tournament last year as well as this year making this year’s victory a back-to-back championship for the Lady Hawks. The men’s team won runner up in the tournament behind Liberty Christian from Athens.
Invited to attend the tournament for the women’s bracket were TCPS Hawks, Liberty Christian Warriors, Mountain View Christian Academy Lions and Cleveland Christian Crusaders.
The Lady Hawks won their first game 50-40 against the Warriors and their second game 52-29 against the Crusaders. Mountain View earned its way to the championship game by beating Liberty 64-32 and Cleveland Christian 60-34.
The championship game tipped off Saturday night. The Mountain View Lions took an early lead in the firstand led 12-14. The Hawks took the lead and brought the score to 26-22 at halftime. TCPS kept the lead the rest of the game with a cushion of 45-39 in the third and a final score of 64-50.
The leading scorers for the Hawks were Neeley Benton with 18 points, Jessica Merrill with 18 points and Karen Flatt with 17. The leading scorer for the Lady Lions was Katlyn Forshee with 21 points.
The men’s bracket included the TCPS Hawks, Liberty Warriors, Mountain View Lions, and two wild-card teams from the Cleveland Community.
The Hawks earned their way to the championship game by beating Mountain View 59-47 and their wild-card team 59-39. The Warriors won all three of their games leading up to the championship game.
The men’s championship game tipped off with the Hawks vs. Warriors. The Hawks took the early lead in the first with a score of 12-14 but lost the lead in second and never regained their momentum. The final score was 66-37 Warriors.
The leading scorer for the Hawks was Daniel Pierce with 14 points. The lead scorer for the Warriors was Josh Anderson with 26 points.
The tournament honored the top players from each team with an All-tournament team medallion. The All-tournament team was selected by the coaches from each team. The recipients of the awards were: Liberty Christian Alyssa Moses and Michael Holland, Liberty Christian Warriors; Courtney Smith and Jordan Robinson, Mountain View Christian Lions; Megan Sexton, Cleveland Christian Crusaders; Karen Flatt and Daniel Pierce.
