Hawk boys struggle in loss to South O’Brien
A defense that was scrambling to get stops put Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn into the position of having to outscore South O’Brien. HMS was unable to do it, and South O’Brien came away with a 69-61 win January 17 at Hartley.
“I thought we struggled defensively for the majority of the game,” said Hawk head coach Naet Hoaglund. “South O’Brien did a nice job of moving the ball and catching us out of position and were able to knock down shots, a lot of times uncontested. I thought their ball movement was a big factor in their efficiency offensively. They were able to move the ball inside out and create really good looks for themselves. I thought we allowed the ball into the high post and short corner way too easily and South O’Brien feasted. Offensively, I thought our ball movement and spacing wasn’t good enough which forced rushed and contested shots. When we did get open looks, we weren’t able to capitalize on enough of those opportunities. It’s going to be hard to compete in these kinds of games when we shoot 3-of-25 from three. Despite some of those struggles offensively, I thought scoring 61 points was enough to win, but we just weren’t efficient enough defensively.”
Lance Berends and Kooper Ebel did their best to keep HMS in the game, scoring 29 and 21 points respectively. Travis Kamradt added five points while Keevyn Jacobsma, Tyson Tessum and Lucas Kroese each scored two. Kamradt had four assists.
The Wolverines made 10 three-point baskets as part of their 24-of-52 (46 percent) shooting night. HMS was 19-of-59 from the floor for 32 percent. At the free throw line South O’Brien was 11-of-21 and the Hawks 20-of-29.
The Hawks grabbed 44 rebounds, including 16 on the offensive glass. Leading board men were Berends with 18 rebounds, Jacobsma with 11 and Ebel with nine. Ebel swiped the ball three times and Kamradt had a pair of thefts. South O’Brien committed 11 turnovers and the Hawks turned the ball over 14 times.
S. O’Brien 14 21 18 16 – 69
HMS 14 13 12 22 – 61