COLUMBIA — The Hickman boys basketball team lost to Hazelwood Central Tuesday night, 66-44. The Hawks jumped ahead early and led 38-14 at halftime. The Kewpies could not control the tempo after two early fouls sent junior starting point guard Eric Franklin to the bench. The Hawks relied on crisp passing to find openings in the Kewpies’ 2-3 zone defense, even scoring two field goals on alley-oops.
“This wasn’t the first team we played that was athletic,” Carter said. “They were just the better team tonight.”
The return of Franklin helped the Kewpies start the second half on a 6-0 run, but Hazelwood Central never trailed by less than 12 points in the second half. Hickman lost most of its offensive post presence after forward Tyler Stevens left the game with an injury in the third quarter.
Carter, Stevens, and Arthur Johnson each scored eight points to lead Hickman in scoring.