The hard part was supposed to be over.

After playing five of six games on the road, the Horizon Hawks finally got back in front of their home fans for awhile –– and ran straight into a determined Condon-Wheeler team.

The Knights gave the Hawks all they could handle, and it took a strong effort from the Horizon defense in the final minutes to secure a 54-49 win at Wy’east Middle School on Saturday night.

“We knew it was going to be this way,” Horizon coach Ron Haynes said. “They’re battling Ione for first over there (the Big Sky East) so we knew this would be tough.”

The final minutes of the game were a mad scramble for possession, with both teams turning the ball over and then getting it right back on an opponent’s turnover several times.

The Knights were able to trim the Hawks’ lead to four points with under two minutes to play after a Justin Wagenaar lay-up, but that would be as close as they would get down the stretch.

Bobby Cofrances led the Hawks with 18 points, while Adam Ohlson contributed 17 and Josh Larsen 12.

Ryan Standford led the Knights with 16 points.

Ohlson put the Hawks up by seven with a lay-up with under a minute to play, but Standford hit a three-pointer at the other end to get the Knights back within four again. The Hawks worked to kill the clock on the next possession, but the Knights were able to come up with a rebound, only to have Sawyer Logan called for traveling bringing the ball up the floor with 20 seconds to play. The Knights got the ball back in the final seconds, but could not hit any of their desperation shots.

Turnovers that killed momentum were the story throughout, as neither team was able to gain much consistency on the offensive end.

“They shot poorly and we turned the ball over a whole lot,” Haynes said of what allowed both several opportunities to take control of the game.

Condon-Wheeler is currently tied with Ione for first place in the Big Sky East, and Knights coach Joe Colby said the rough- and-tumble nature of the his team’s meeting with the Hawks will set his team up well for the stretch run.

“When you play a team that is undefeated well it shows what we’ve accomplished,” he said. “We had a chance –– what more can you ask?”

The close game emphasized to Horizon coaches and players the point that even though they play most of their remaining games at home, nothing is going to come easily for the Hawks.

On Friday the Hawks also had a close call in Dufur, hanging on to beat the Rangers 50-46.

After Horizon got up by double digits in the third quarter, the Hawks survived an onslaught of three-pointers by Dufur in the final quarter to get the win.

Cofrances led the Hawks with 19 points and Josh Larson added 16 points.

The Hawks will host Crook County on Friday and then travel to Ione on Saturday.