The Hendrickson Hawks were defeated at home by the Killeen Kangaroos 72-56 in District 25-4A action. The Kangaroos, who are ranked ninth in the state, were led by the outside shooting of Ja’corie Baker, who buried several three pointers well beyond the three-point line. They also got excellent play from their tall and athletic frontline that consistently came away with offensive rebounds and altered the much smaller Hawks’ shots on the defensive end.

In the early going the Hawks struggled to convert field goals and only managed to stay within striking distance of the Kangaroos behind two Tony Thompson 3-pointers. The Hawks got a 3-pointer from Jalen Harris during the closing seconds of the first quarter to cut the Kangaroos lead to 19-13.

In the second quarter the Hawks cut the Kangaroos lead to 27-24 following a Cedric Price layup. The Hawks did not get any closer than that for the rest of the night, as the Kangaroos closed the quarter on an 8-3 run to take a 35-27 halftime lead.

Early in the third quarter, the Kangaroos seized control of the game with an 18-0 run to take a commanding 58-30 lead. The run was triggered by the three-point shooting of Baker and the offensive rebounding of Ta’shawn Thomas, as the two combined for 15 of their team’s 21 third quarter points.

In the late third quarter, and early into the fourth, the Hawks got some inspired play by undersized post Damarion Jackson to cut the Kangaroos lead to 62-50. Jackson, who is generously listed at 6-feet tall, scored eight points during the run and out-hustled the much taller Kangaroos for several rebounds that helped trigger transition baskets for the Hawks.

The loss drops the Hawks to 14-13 overall and 2-2 in district play. The Kangaroos improved to 21-7 and 4-0 overall.

The Hawks were led in scoring by Jalen Washington with 16 points, Harris with 14 points, while Jackson added 12 points.

The Kangaroos were led in scoring by Baker with 22 points.