The Hawthorne Hornets work to get the ball in on offense against the Santa Fe Raiders.

Hawthorne Hornets Basketball Season Tips Off

By Caroline King and Olivia Velardo

 The Santa Fe Raiders defeated the Hawthorne Hornets at Eastside High School on Tuesday night, 62-53.

Eastside Rams Tipoff Classic

As the high school basketball season begins throughout the state, six local teams are competing in the Eastside Rams Tipoff Classic, with Santa Fe, Hawthorne, Buchholz, P.K. Yonge, Newberry and Eastside competing.

Hawthorne’s focus is on repeating as football state champions with a home game Friday against Newberry and most of the basketball players are still in pads. The Hornets had only six players suit up Tuesday and still managed to put up a fight, losing by just nine points.

The Hornets pick up pressure at half court to force a Raider turnover.

Coming off an 11-7 record last season, led by coach Gregory Bowie, the Hornets are looking for a strong start to the season this year.

Gregory Bowie serves as Hawthorne’s basketball coach and offensive coordinator for the football team.

First-Half Competition

For the first half of the game, the Hornets and the Raiders worked intensely to keep the score neck-and-neck.

The first half ended in a 28-28 tie. 

The Hornets stayed strong despite having one sub and half the players the Raiders had.

Kyroe Jordan shoots a free throw to get the Hornets within six points in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets were led by the quickness of freshman point guard Kyroe Jordan, who contributed 13 points. Eliajah Drant also matched Jordan’s 13 points for Hawthorne.

Raiders Domination in the Second Half

After a back-and-forth first half, the Raiders came out on a 11-0 run against the Hornets to start the second half.

Momentum was with the Raiders from then on until two straight 3s from Jordan in the third, putting the Hornets within six.

The ball was spread around with three of the six Hornet’s players ending the game in double figures. Talon Harris finished with 11.

Up Next

The Hornets play again Thursday at 5 p.m. in the preseason event.

Santa Fe, Buchholz, P.K. Yonge, Newberry and Eastside are also playing Thursday.

About Caroline King

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