No. 14 Wall Fends Off Late Rally by Rival Jim Ned

WALL, TX — Clutch shots and a solid defensive effort saw the No. 14 Wall Hawks survive a late rally from the Jim Ned Indians in Wall on Tuesday night. Jim Ned outscored Wall 21-16, including five 3-point shots, to make it close, but Wall would hang on to win, 50-44.

Wall improves to 5-0 in District 6-3A and 21-5 overall with the win.

"Man, I'm just glad to get out of it," Head Coach Parker Roberts said after the Hawks held on. "I mean, wins are wins at this point in the year, and Jim Ned is a great team. It's always to be a rivalry game between us and them."

Wall's defense smothered the Indians early, holding Jim Ned to only 12 points in the entire first half. The 3-point second quarter was especially impressive by the Hawks. However, Jim Ned played almost as tough on Wall's end of the floor. The Hawks held a 20-12 lead headed into the break.

In the second half, Wall finally woke up on offense. A 14-point 3rd quarter helped the Hawks build an 11-point advantage at one point, and it seemed like Wall would run away with it. But, as every fan knows, that's not how rivalry games usually go down. Jim Ned abandoned the paint in the 4th quarter and chunked up three after three to try and climb back in it. With five minutes remaining, the three's started to fall. Jim Ned pulled back within four points at one point before finally putting the Indians down for good.

"I was extremely proud of our guys," Roberts continued. "[Jim Ned] had a good surge there at the end, knocked down a bunch of threes. Our guys did a good job of trying to withstand it, dig in, knock some free throws down and finally seal it in the end."

Cluth baskets at the rim and a few made free throws pushed Wall to victory, 50-44.

Jager Thompson and Paxton Brake led the Hawks in scoring on Tuesday night with 13 points each, followed close behind by Jaxson Kirkland with 11 points.

Up next, the Hawks host the San Angelo TLCA Eagles. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, barring no schedule changes due to inclement weather that is supposed to hit this weekend.