Facing a tough, scrappy Akron-Westfield team that concentrated its defense on the top two scoring threats, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn persevered and pulled out a 55-38 road victory December 14 at Akron. This was the initial War Eagle Conference for the Hawks who improved to 3-2 on the season.
HMS head coach Naet Hoaglund was quick to give credit to the young Westerner team. “For being a team full of freshman and sophomores with very few upperclassmen, they played with some serious grit and toughness,” said Hoaglund. “They came out in a triangle and two and really focused on making it difficult for Lance (Berends) and Kooper (Ebel). We kind of expected them to do that based on their game with Gehlen, but with playing back to back nights we didn’t have the opportunity to rep it in practice. I’m really happy with how our guys responded to that challenge. We had to do some things outside of our comfort zone offensively and credit our guys to sticking with the process and pulling out a victory. It would have been easy to get frustrated and start jacking up shots but we stuck with it and eventually got enough good looks on the offensive end and enough stops on the defensive end to close the game out. The final score really wasn’t indicative of how competitive that game was.”
Despite drawing the attention of the Akron-Westfield defense, Ebel still managed 18 points and Berends 12. The Hawks got scoring help from other sources. Keevyn Jacobsma tallied 11 points and Mason Brinkman seven. Trenton Vollink added three points while Travis Kamradt and Jordon Ortega each scored two. “In a game where Lance and Kooper are getting limited touches, its important for us to have those third, fourth and fifth scoring options,” stated Hoaglund. “I was pumped for Keevyn to come in and score they way he did. Those 11 points off the bench were big for us. We need to continue to get him involved offensively. Mason Brinkman was another guy who provided a little spark for us offensively. He hit a three early that gave us a little life and then his jumper in the second half when we were only up by six or so points came at a critical time.”
Each team put up 51 shot attempts. HMS made 19 of them (37 percent) and the Westerners 16 (31 percent). The Hawks were two of 14 from three-point range and, concerning to their coach, just 15-of-33 at the foul line. Akron-Westfield connected on three of 12 shots from beyond the arc shot and three of six free throws.
HMS was dominant on the boards, outrebounding the Westerners 46-17. Ortega claimed 12 of the caroms, Berends 11 and Ebel 10. However, the Hawks were guilty of 17 turnovers, most of them unforced. Akron-Westfield committed nine turnovers.
“It was good for us to have to grind out that victory,” remarked Hoaglund. “Those are the kinds of games where we learn something about ourselves and find growth. I’m happy with how our kids kept pounding the stone and found ways to score when it wasn’t always easy.”
HMS 8 20 11 16 – 55
A-W 13 9 7 9 – 38