Boyden-Hull’s play presented some challenges for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and the Hawks were not quite able to meet them. The Comets did just enough to earn a 57-50 win over HMS January 26 at Hull.
“This was a game where we needed to have a sense of urgency and we just didn’t have it,” explained HMS head coach Naet Hoaglund. “We struggled out of the gate defensively and settled for quick shots on offense.”
Kooper Ebel finished with 22 points and Lance Berends 19 but it was tough sledding for the duo. “They did a nice job of trying to take away Lance inside,” noted Hoaglund. “We still had plenty of opportunities to get the ball into Lance, but just couldn’t take advantage. They limited Kooper’s driving angles and made it tough to attack the paint.  When teams do that, we need to be able to hit some outside shots and we just weren’t able to.”
Keevyn Jacobsma scored five points while Travis Kamradt and Landen Elwood each finished with two points and three assists. The Hawks were 20-of-45 from the floor (44 percent) with three treys in 14 attempts. The hosts from the Siouxland Conference shot 42 percent (21-of-50) and were 7-of-18 from long range. From the free throw line HMS was 7-of-16 and the Comets 8-of-13.
“We had too many possessions where Boyden-Hull took away our first or second reads and we settled,” said Hoaglund. “We had our chances down the stretch. We were able to get a one-point lead with 40 seconds left in the third quarter but they ended the quarter on a 6-0 run after an and-one and a three. You go from being up one to down five in a pretty quick stretch and we were never able to fully recover.”
HMS won the rebound battle 31-22, thanks in large part to the 11 rebounds from Berends and the 10 from Jacobsma. Ebel made three steals and he and Berends each blocked a shot. The Hawks committed 12 turnovers – three more than Boyden-Hull.
HMS 12 11 13 14 – 50
B-H 18 9 14 16 – 57