SULLY — On the heels of its first conference defeat last Friday, the Lynnville-Sully boys basketball team wanted to make a statement on Monday.

That statement was heard loud and clear.

Jumping out to an 18-2 lead after the first quarter, the Hawks (9-2, 9-1 South Iowa Cedar League) were nearly automatic on offense and paired that with some tough defense to cruise past Iowa Valley by a final score of 64-36.

"Whenever you have a loss you want to respond, and the guys really came out focused on getting after it tonight," Hawks coach Nick Harthoorn said. "As a coach, that's just what you want to see."

A myriad of players got that 18-2 lead going, as juniors Darin Hofer and TJ Cunningham and seniors Nathan Russell and Brady Van Wyk all scored in the opening frame. Van Wyk and Russell each hit 3-pointers, which would be a common thread for the rest of the game, and the Hawk defense held the Tigers scoreless until a pair of free throws at the 2:07 mark.

Iowa Valley turned up the scoring a bit more in the second quarter, but so did the Hawks. In addition to the starters knocking down shots, freshman Connor Cullen came in off the bench and quickly dumped in two threes. At one point, the Hawks had hit four threes in a row, and Russell ended the half with one more from downtown to give L-S a 39-10 halftime lead.

Besides a short run with about three minutes left in the half, the Tigers were held completely in check on the offensive end. The Hawks didn’t open up too many points in transition, however, and scored nearly all of their points in a halfcourt game.