In a rugged overtime session where several fouls could have been called, but weren’t, it was one that was called that may have decided matters. On a scramble for a loose ball, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn was whistled, sending Hinton to the line for a one-and-one with three seconds left in a tie game. The Blackhawks made both free throws and the following half court pass by HMS failed to connect, giving Hinton the 53-51 win January 27 at Hinton. The loss dropped the Hawks to 3-5 in the War Eagle Conference and leveled their season mark at 8-8.
Hinton knotted the score at 46-all with six seconds remaining in regulation. HMS then turned the ball over but Kooper Ebel blocked a shot at the buzzer, forcing the overtime. In the extra four-minute period a three-pointer by Travis Kamradt put the Hawks ahead 51-48 but Hinton responded with a free throw and then a tying bucket with 35 seconds on the clock.
Lance Berends drew his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter. Unofficially, he led HMS in scoring with 17 points and Kooper Ebel was next with 16 points.
No official stats for HMS were available at press time.
HMS 15 15 5 11 5 – 51
Hinton 6 14 10 16 7 – 53