Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn held Harris-Lake Park to six points or less in three of the four quarters to defeat the Wolves 54-26 January 14 at Hartley. In winning the War Eagle Conference contest, HMS held the visitors to 19 percent shooting (12-of-63) on the night.
“I thought we set the tone for the game on the defensive end,” said Hawk head coach Naet Hoaglund. “We were really active and disruptive. Alex Billings played a huge role in that. He really battled inside against their posts and had great positioning, denying any kind of entry pass into them. He gives us that spark with his energy and effort and refuses to be outworked. I thought Jackson Vogt had a really positive impact on the defensive end as well. So much of what we try to do defensively starts with where and how we pick the ball up and that’s Jackson’s role on defense and he did a great job in that role.”
HMS was 22-of-51 from the field for 43 percent. From three-point range the Hawks were 7-of-23 and HLP 1-of-14. Each team attempted seven free throws with HMS sinking three and the Wolves just one. “Offensively, I thought our ball movement was really solid,” said Hoaglund. “HLP threw a couple of different zones and then some man at us and our guys were able to recognize and keep the offense flowing.”
Caden Douma scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded four assists. Isaac Schierholz contributed 12 assists, 11 rebounds and three points. Billings’ 10 points accompanied six rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Kolby Douma had five points and two assists and Vogt seven rebounds, four points and two steals. Riley Wiersma added a basket for two points. The Hawks had twice as many assists (18) as they did turnovers (nine). The Wolves turned the ball over 10 times.
“Caden had a really good offensive game and rebounded well for us,” noted his coach. He did a nice job moving without the ball and finding soft spots in the defense. We did a really nice job of feeding him the ball. Alex complimented his defensive performance with a solid offensive performance. Four of his 10 points came in the final minute of the second quarter which gave us a big boost heading into halftime. I’m really proud of Isaac’s game. He didn’t score it like he normally does but found other ways to impact the game.”
HLP 3 6 6 11 – 26
HMS 12 14 12 16 – 54