Sioux Central rallied past Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn in the fourth quarter to claim a 68-63 non-conference victory December 6 at Hartley. The loss dropped the Hawks to 1-2 on the season.
“We had a few poor possessions with quick shots and turnovers and weren’t able to get the stops we needed,” commented HMS head coach Naet on the late-game struggles. “Sioux Central was able to capitalize and string a few baskets together. As soon as that momentum shifted, things got sideways for us pretty quickly. We got tight offensively and didn’t get the possessions we needed. Defensively we were late in our rotations and closeouts that led to open shots for them. Credit to them for knocking them down.”
The Hawks took a 31-24 lead into halftime. “I thought we came out and set the tone early,” said Hoaglund. “We were sharing the ball and had good flow offensively.” The coach was also pleased with the defensive effort during that stretch adding “I thought we defended well in the first half only allowing 24 points. We were forcing tough shots and making it difficult for them to score and holding them to one shot possessions.”
HMS got 22 points from Lance Berends, 15 from Kooper Ebel, 11 from Keevyn Jacobsma, six each from Travis Kamradt and Jordan Ortega and three from Mason Brinkman. “It was good to get guys like Travis, Mason, and Jordan to hit shots for us early,” remarked Hoaglund. “A lot of teams are going to zero in on taking Lance and Kooper away, so for those guys to hit shots is big for us. I was really proud of how Keevyn came into the game and knocked some shots down as well.”
Berends was the game’s top rebounder, falling just short of collecting 20 caroms. “I thought our effort on the boards was awesome, holding a 44 to 22 rebounding advantage,” said the Hawk head coach. “Lance alone had 19 rebounds which says a lot about his effort on the glass.”
HMS was 26-of-55 from the floor (47 percent) and 20 of those baskets were the result of an assist. Top distributors were Kamradt with six assists, Ebel with five and Berends with four. The Hawks hit nine of 22 three-point tries and were 2-of-4 at the free throw line. Sioux Central made 25 baskets in 56 attempts for 45 percent. That included going 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Rebels went 12-for-22 at the charity stripe. They were led in scoring by Jacob Hargens with 28 points and Carter Boettcher with 19. Sioux Central committed just five turnovers compared to 21 for the Hawks.
“It never feels good to lose, but to lose the way we did after controlling much of the game is a different kind of hurt,” noted Hoaglund. “We can learn a lot about ourselves and this team from a game like this. I have no doubt in my mind, with the kids that we have, that we will be better because of this experience.”
S. Central 11 13 17 27 – 68
HMS 17 14 12 20 – 63