A Lance Berends putback basket highlighted a 5-0 run by Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn late in the game and the Hawks were able to hold off Sheldon 55-51 January 10 at Hartley. The bucket followed a free throw by Travis Kamradt and preceded a pair of conversions at the line by Kooper Ebel. The sequence gave HMS a 55-48 lead and the allowed the team to survive three made free throws by the Orabs in the final half-minute. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Hawks.
“I am really proud of the effort our guys played with tonight,” expressed HMS head coach Naet Hoaglund. “We came out and got off to a hot start offensively and defended really hard on the defensive end.” HMS roared out to an 8-0 lead and was on top 14-7 after one quarter. “We went through a little rough patch with four losses in a row. For our guys to stick together and keep pounding the stone shows a lot about their character and their resolve. I couldn’t be happier for them.”
Berends led the Hawks with 19 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. “I was really proud of the game Lance had,” said his coach. “Sheldon made it really difficult for him to work down low. They would send double and even triple teams at him when he caught the ball in the post and he just continued to work. He made some great decisions to kick out that led to open shots for others and when he kept it and made his moves, he finished strong or got to the free throw line where he’s been doing much better. It’s a credit to his hard work and the extra time he puts in after practice.”
Providing scoring punch of their own were Travis Kamradt and Kooper Ebel. Each tallied 16 points. The other four points came from Keevyn Jacobsma. “Travis had another big shooting night for us hitting five of six threes,” remarked Hoaglund. “He’s got a little mojo going with his shot right now which is really fun to watch. Having Kooper back out there was a big boost for us. I love his attack mentality as it opens up a lot of other options for us.”
Mason Brinkman distributed the ball to the tune of seven assists and he added a pair of steals. Ebel pulled down seven rebounds, recorded a pair of assists and blocked a shot.
The Hawks enjoyed 50 percent shooting with 19 field goals in 38 attempts. They were 6-of-18 from beyond the arc and 11-of-20 at the charity stripe. The visitors from the Siouxland Conference shot 40 percent (18-of-45), including 8-of-23 from three-point range. Sheldon converted seven of 10 free throw tries.
The tough defense that helped the Hawks get off to their fast start continued throughout the course of the game. Said Hoadlund, “Sheldon did some really nice things to get guys open shots but with our communication, toughness getting through screens, rotations, and our ability to contain dribble penetration we were able to make them have to work hard for everything they got.”
The turnover numbers showed the Orabs with 14 and HMS with 10. “Limiting turnovers is going to give us a chance in tight games like this,” noted Hoaglund. I’m proud of the possessions that we had, especially down the stretch. Every time Sheldon went on a run it seemed like we responded with great possessions that ended with scores or great looks.”
The coach loved the energy from his bench and from the crowd. “It was just an all round good high school basketball game and couldn’t be happier for our guys to battle their way to a win,” said Hoaglund.
Sheldon 7 16 9 19 – 51
HMS 14 8 15 18 – 55