MAUREPAS-Maurepas coach Evan Balfantz said his Wolves wanted to test themselves against second-seeded Zwolle, and that they weren't scared and weren't intimidated in Friday's Class B quarterfinal game.

But they also didn't have quite as much size and speed as the Hawks, and in the end, Zwolle's will prevailed in an 84-57 victory that put the Hawks back in the Top 28 Tournament next week.

Darius Montgomery knocked back five 3-pointers and piled up points off transition as well for a game-high 30 points. Joevoskie Mitchell chimed in with 20 points and 12 rebounds as Zwolle (41-8) advanced to the semifinals next week.

But it wasn't quite as easy as the final score suggests. Maurepas (30-9) denied the Hawks one of their patented game-breaking runs - until the third quarter, when Zwolle finally went off. Ahead 42-36, the Hawks outscored the Wolves 15-3 to close the third quarter, with Montgomery getting five points and Mitchell six - all on tip-ins at the rim.

"I thought we competed real well for three quarters," Balfantz said. "Our guys showed to play tonight.

"One thing I stressed is we couldn't take plays off, we had to play for four quarters. We let up for just a little, but, a couple of mental mistakes not getting down the court, and that team can put points on the board in a hurry."

The Hawks' lead was 57-39 heading into the fourth quarter, and the Hawks got their running game going in a 13-2 surge to open the fourth quarter and settle the issue.

"I think that run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter really set the tone," said Zwolle coach Bradley McLaren. "That's what we've been doing all year long, and that kind of set the tone for the end of the game."

The bigger Hawks won the battle of the boards 38-35, but that was after the Wolves closed the rebounding gap late in the game after Zwolle had subbed out. The Hawks scored 14 of their points off of follow shots and tips.

"The guys tried their hardest to block out, but they were quick and they were long and they were a lot bigger than us, so we struggled on the boards a little bit," Balfantz said.

Wolves post Keith Fleming Jr. held his own on the glass with a game-high 13 rebounds to go with 10 points. But he was the only inside presence Maurepas could muster. The Wolves did put four players in double figures, all of them matching Fleming's 10 points. Gary Perkins, Demetri Gill and Avery Rheams were the others.

Their work kept things interesting for a while but Maurepas went into halftime down by 40-30 as the Hawks finally got some separation by scoring the last eight points of the second period. Montgomery scored 10 of his 30 markers in that quarter to finally ease McLaren's mind.

"The first four or five minutes I was really worried," McLaren said. "They've got some really good guards. I know they're young. The post kid (Fleming) is going to be really good in the future. This is a team to be reckoned with a year or so from now. They're really tough."

That's the lone consolation for Balfantz, whose fell one game short of the promised land again.

"I lose five seniors, but I've got three starters coming back and I've got some guys ready to step up and fill spots," Balfantz said. "We've been to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The kids are hungry and I hope they stay hungry. We want to take that next step and get to the Dome - hopefully next year."

For the Hawks, however, next year will have to wait.

"We're where we planned to be at the beginning of the season," McLaren said, noting that his fans were counting on that as well. "They expect us to be there, nowhere else - or they'll let you know."