CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Northeast Eagles traveled to “The Hawks Nest” at Rossview High School for a District 13-4A matchup on Friday. The Eagles controlled the contest early, but a 19-2 run from Rossview in the second quarter got the Hawks back on track, and they pulled away for an 81-56 win.

Neither team had played a game in two weeks or practiced much thanks to the ice storm, and early on, it looked like it. Neither team found the bottom of the net for the first four minutes, until Northeast caught fire for a 10-2 run late in the first quarter. However, the Hawks quickly shook the rust off, going on a 19-2 run to start the second, and not looking back. Hawks guard Jiyair Rose returned to his normal scoring numbers, ending his senior night with 23 points, five rebounds, and four steals.

“It was rough early on, a lot of rust going on,” said Hawks head coach Johnny Jackson. “You’re going to have nights where the ball won’t go in, so it just took defensively locking it in and turning that into points. To start as bad as we did and still end up with the score we did, that says a lot about our kids’ effort. It was ugly in the first, but you have to play four.”

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Northeast wasn’t going to lie down, though, as guard Braylon Jones had a career night, scoring 24, including 19 in the second half, to keep the Eagles’ scoring afloat. The duo of Hawks forwards Preston Russell and Israel Dillard was too much for the Eagles to handle, though, as they pulled away behind Russell’s 17 points and eight rebounds, and Dillard’s 14 points and nine boards. The Eagles, as they have been all year, were close, but no cigar.

“As we have been all year, we’re up and down,” said Eagles head coach Ivard Brimley. “We just have to take those spurts where we play well, and make that the consistent product we put on the floor. However, we have come a long way from where we were, and at this point, we have to strive to keep improving in the postseason. Anything can happen on any given night.”

What’s next for Rossview?

For the Hawks, they’ve earned their third district win and have two huge matchups with Kirkwood and Clarksville High next week. Despite losing to Kirkwood in their last meeting, Rossview still controls its own destiny for the district’s top spot.

“Everyone is in the same situation where we have to play a bunch back to back, but that’s tournament basketball,” said Jackson. “Three games on the road, two district games against rivals will be a test, but this is what we’ve been preparing for all year. It’s time to go.”

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