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But then the Hillbillies responded with a 10-0 run to close the period, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Mike Hahn that fell just before the buzzer. Hahn’s trey was his fourth of seven on the night for a game-high 29 points, as Fredonia held the lead the rest of the way for a 72-41 victory.

“I felt good coming into the game and I had a good warmup, but it’s really just about my teammates believing in me,” said Hahn. “They all have faith in me and that’s giving me faith in myself.”

Each team’s leading scorer on the night was held scoreless for one quarter of the contest – Hahn in the second quarter and Swanson in the third quarter. Those periods represented each team’s lowest of the four frames on the night.

The difference in the game was the performance of each side in second half.

Westfield’s Logan Tuah drives past Fredonia defender Mike Hahn (30).
OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

“We challenged them and said we may not have had the best 16 minutes, but luckily we get another 16 minutes and let’s see what we can do,” Hillbillies head coach Nick Bertrando said of his message to his team at halftime.

Fredonia (5-1) outscored Westfield (3-3) by 40-15 in the second half, with a double-digit advantage in each period.

“We came out flat in the second quarter, but at halftime we knew we had to come out strong, especially on the defensive end,” said Hahn. “We pride ourselves on being a second-half team and we came out and got it done.”

Hahn’s 29 points were 12 more than any other player in the contest. He also added eight rebounds on the night.

“Hahn just wasn’t going to miss. We knew he was a good shooter, but we didn’t know he was that good of a shooter,” said Wolverines head coach Nolan Swanson.

Fredonia’s Mike Hahn, who had seven 3-pointers, celebrates.
OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

Westfield responded to a 12-point hole early in the second quarter to cut Fredonia’s lead to four points, 30-26, with under two minutes left to play in the first half. But 90 seconds into the second half, the Hillbillies lead climbed to double digits yet again and remained that way the rest of the night.

“I was really thrilled with how hard we played,” said Nolan Swanson. “The score got away from us, obviously, but the first half was an awesome, competitive game. I wish it would have continued.”

Davion White stepped up in the third quarter for the Hillbillies with 10 points. He finished with 17 points along with nine rebounds.

“If I’m being honest, it was just a team effort,” White said. “We just worked as a team and it opened shots for me and the rest of my teammates.”

Fredonia’s Jay Hawk added nine rebounds and four assists to go with his 3 points, while Sal Tabone had five assists to go with his 5 points. Fredonia had 24 offensive rebounds as well as 17 defensive rebounds and 21 assists.

Westfield’s Carson Swanson (11) dribbles while being guarded by Fredonia’s Ethan Fry (10) in Thursday’s nonleague game.
OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

Carson Swanson led Westfield with 17 points, despite only 3 in the second half. His 14 points in the first half matched Hahn for the game’s high mark at the time. Chris Rotunda added 12 points for the Wolverines.

“We just played the 14th-ranked team in New York State according to the sportswriters in Class D. … We wanted to really test ourselves against a kid (Carson Swanson) who can flat-out put the ball in the basket,” said Bertrando. “In the first half, we struggled a bit, but in the second half we came together as a team … and we slowed him (Carson Swanson) down.”

Fredonia is back in action Tuesday when the Hillbillies play McKinley at 4:30 p.m. at the Clarence tournament. Westfield hosts Sherman in the Westfield Winter Classic tournament at 6:15 p.m. next Thursday.

WESTFIELD (41)

Strang 0 2 2, Russo 1 0 3, Lawrence 0 0 0, Hernandez 0 0 0, Tuah 0 0 0, Swanson 6 3 17, Ormsby 2 0 4, Vacanti 0 0 0, Rac 0 0 0, Larson 1 1 3, Rotunda 5 2 12, Fuller 0 0 0. Totals 15 8 41.

FREDONIA (72)

Fry 3 1 9, Whitfield 2 2 6, Putney 0 0 0, Tabone 2 0 5, White 7 2 17, Hahn 11 0 29, Riddle 0 1 1, Hall 1 0 2, Hawk 1 1 3, Hester 0 0 0. Totals 27 7 72.

3-point goals–Hahn 7, Fry 2, Swanson 2, White, Tabone, Russo.

Westfield 15 11 6 9 — 41

Fredonia 25 7 19 21 — 72