Behind 11 three-pointers, including nine in the first half, Wall collected a 68-58 victory over the Lions, who slipped to 9-14 on the season with the loss at Warren Gym.
Wall opened a 36-22 halftime advantage, thanks in large part to its success from beyond the three-point arc.
“That was huge,” Lions head coach Will Parker said of Wall’s success from the perimeter. “They’re a good shooting team and we know that and team have really hit shots on us and we have to figure out why. We have to stop giving teams so much room and make teams penetrate to beat us. We have to have guys that go out there and make them make decisions. We’re just letting them pass it and catch it and shoot it in rhythm and we have to get better at that.”
Four Hawks finished in double figures led by Augden Hallmark with 25 points, Jager Thompson with 13, Lane Stansberry with 12, and Jack Duncan with 10 points.
Trailing 52-36 heading into the fourth period, the Lions played some of their best ball of the tournament, forcing five of Wall’s 16 turnovers in the final eight minutes and shaving the deficit at one point to eight points.
Morsello Hooker again led the Lions with 17 points followed by 12 from Ike Hall, 11 from Casey Friebel, 10 from Ross Strasner and eight points from Hayden Noe.
“I was really encouraged,” Parker of the Lions’ performance in their final two Classic contests, “but we have to have an identity and we don’t have that yet. Normally we’re flat in the second half but I thought we were really flat today in the first and second quarter. But then we were great with the ball pressure, I liked our man to man defense, but we’re going to have to be able to switch it up going forward.”
The Lions (9-14) are off until Tuesday when they host Coleman at 6:30 p.m.
