The Thunderhawks got another tough GMC win on Tuesday night but lost one of their key players as the result. East defeated visiting Oak Hills 56-34 displaying tremendous emotional fortitude after their teammate, Alex Mangold, suffered a serious leg injury a little over a minute into the game. Mangold, a junior 2-year varsity player, went down in a heap resulting in an extended pause in the game.
Once time resumed the Hawks played with focus and intensity building a big lead over the Highlanders that they were never able to overcome. Will Johnston came off the bench and provided the spark that the team needed. Johnston poured in a career-high 27 points that included 6 3-pointers. Bash Wieland was, as usual, heavily guarded, but still contributed 14 and snared 8 rebounds.
The Hawks (9-3, 7-1) have little time to rest as they will face another league leader at Mason (11-1, 7-1) this Friday night.
The team will top off the weekend with a non-conference contest against #1 ranked Moeller this Sunday in the King Classic at Middletown. Tip-off for that game is 8:00 pm.