By switching strategies in the second half and taking shorter and higher-percentage shots, the Madison Warhawks rallied to win.
The boys high-school basketball team shot 59 percent from the floor over the final two quarters, which helped the Warhawks close the game on a 10-0 run to defeat the visiting Yorktown Patriots, 67-62, Dec. 14 in non-district action.
Yorktown (1-7) led 62-57 with 3:09 to play, but didn’t score again. Of Madison’s final 10 points, three baskets were layups, another was a six-foot, turn-around hook shot in the lane, and there were two foul shots.
A follow shot by Miles Franklin (11 points, six rebounds, two assists off the bench) with 45 seconds left gave Madison the lead for good at 63-62, as the Warhawks improved to 6-1.
In the first half, Madison took 16 three-point shots, making seven. In the final two periods, the Warhawks cut way down on such attempts, making just one of four.
“Sometimes you want to take and make the easier shots, and that’s what we talked about doing more in the second half,” Madison coach Kevin Roller said. “And we took care of the ball in the second half.”
Madison had just one fourth-quarter turnover and was 12 of 18 from the floor in the second half on two-point field goal attempts.
“That’s the way we wanted to play,” Roller said.
Senior guard Andrew Gorkowski was Madison’s leading scorer with 25 points to go with four assists and two steals. He made two three-pointers. Senior forward Aidan Faulkner added 10 points and four rebounds; senior forward Colin Sullender had nine points, all on three-pointers; and senior point guard Bo Kuhblank had five points, six assists, one steal and a team-high eight rebounds. He had nine rebounds in a previous Madison win this season. Will Giery scored five for the Warhawks.
The contest was seesaw throughout, with nine ties and 10 lead changes. The Warhawks won without starters Jack Kaminski (injured) and Joseph Chalabi (sick).
Madison led 19-15 at the end of the first quarter, 37-36 at halftime and 55-52 after three periods. Yorktown built the five-point fourth-quarter lead at 62-57 thanks to a 15-2 run.
NOTES: The teams combined for 15 three-point baskets in the first half, each attempting 16 . . . Overall, Madison shot 52 percent from the floor . . . There were just 10 foul shots attempted in the game – Madison making 3 of 3 and Yorktown 3 of 7.