The Mound Westonka boys basketball team closed out the week in dramatic fashion with a last-second road win against Holy Family.

To start the week, the White Hawks were at home Feb. 5 for a rematch against the Southwest Christian Stars. The Mound Westonka gyms were full for a doubleheader night. The game started slow, with both teams finding their groove. The Stars shot well, and the first half ended with a 30-39 deficit for Westonka. 

The second half saw more scoring from the Stars, who extended their lead to 13. The White Hawks made a couple big runs to close the lead to five. However, clutch shooting in the final three minutes put the game away for the Stars, 82-75. Westonka had four players scoring in double figures: juniors Max Kraay, Jacob Orenge and Cole Drill and senior Bryce Tappen. 

On Feb. 8, the White Hawks headed to Holy Family. The first half proved to be a battle, as both teams were energized for this rivalry game. Holy Family controlled most of the first half, but the White Hawks closed the gap late, with the Fire clinging to a one-point lead at halftime.

The second half continued as a back-and-forth game, but the Fire finally took control, leading by 10 with two minutes to play. However, there was no quit in the White Hawks, who cut the lead in half a minute later. Holy Family would make a free throw with 20.8 seconds left to take an 86-80 lead. Westonka missed a 3-point shot and Holy Family grabbed the rebound, but it was stolen away by Drill shortly after, and he was intentionally fouled.

Seconds later, a Holy Family player was assessed a technical foul. This resulted in four free throws and possession of the ball for the White Hawks. Drill made the first two free throws, followed by Kraay making the next two. However, the White Hawks were still down 86-84 with 9.8 seconds left with the ball.

Westonka ran a play along the baseline, and the pass from Drill to Kraay went through a Holy Family player’s hands. It was retrieved by Kraay, who buried a 3-pointer with one second left. Holy Family called timeout to run a play, but their shot was unsuccessful. The White Hawks won at Holy Family for the first time in three years, 87-86.

Kraay led the team in scoring with 31 points, followed by Drill with 23 points, junior Matthew Mobagi with 17 points, and Tappen with 12 points. Excellent contributions came from junior Brenden Sexton with eight rebounds, junior Isaac Aud with a clutch 3-point shot late in the game, and junior George Eberhart with all-around play in the first half. 

The White Hawks return home Tuesday, Feb. 13, to take on conference and section opponent Delano before traveling to Duluth this weekend for games against Hermantown (Friday, Feb. 16) and Duluth East (Saturday, Feb. 17).