HARLOW Hawks secured a narrow 64-55 victory at Stevenage Scorpions to remain in the top four in the Herts Basketball League division two.

Both teams started a little tentatively, but it was Rimantas Norkeliunas who opened up the scoring for the visitors.
The Scorpions played with a greater intensity and tempo, this opened up the Hawks’ half court defence and allowed the home side some easy drives to the basket.

Stevenage took the first quarter 15-11.

The Hawks managed to find some spaces in Stevenage’s zone defence which resulted in early scores for Lee Jones and Roan Lenihan, they also picked up their defensive efforts limiting the home side to just nine points in the quarter.

After the Hawks forced Stevenage into turnovers the resulting fast breaks were not executed at a high percentage. This meant although the Hawks managed to drag themselves back in the contest, they missed an opportunity to put daylight between them and the scorpions, heading into the half-time break with their first lead of the game, up 25-24.

Russ Stonehouse and Alex Hinds kept the scoreboard ticking over and a tense final quarter awaited as Hawks closed out the period up 41-40.

The visitors stepped up in the final passage of play, Tom White became aggressive at both ends of the floor and he picked up a couple of easy scores, while Norkeliunas used his strong frame to get lay-ups or free throws.

The defensive pressure also increased, making the Scorpions work for every shot attempt.
Hawks ran out eventual winners 64-55 to keep their race for the title alive.

HARLOW HAWKS: Norkeliunas (14pts), Stonehouse (14pts), Hinds (12pts), White (9pts), Whytock (7pts), Jones (4pts), Lenihan (4pts), Morris, Griffin, Martin.