Hawks’ well-rounded performance bests South O’Brien


Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn was able to gain a double digit lead over South O’Brien and, when things got tight in the late going, hold off the Wolverines to win 47-45. South O’Brien had two shots at the basket in the final seconds but neither hit the mark. This January 21 battle at Hartley did not count in the War Eagle Conference standings but lifted the Hawks’ overall mark to 5-9. The Wolverines played the game without leading scorer Derek Paulsen.
“I’m thrilled for our guys and their performance,” exclaimed HMS head coach Naet Hoaglund. “To see their joy and excitement afterwards and to see some of that hard work starting to pay off is what high school sports is all about. Obviously, South O’Brien is a different team without Paulsen. He’s a special player who impacts the game in so many ways, but they’re still very well coached and have some really skilled players. I was really proud of our composure throughout the game. We looked and felt confident the whole game. Even down the stretch, South O’Brien was able to come back and take the lead, but we were never really rattled. We responded to their run and were able to make the plays we needed to come out on top.”
The Hawks were 17-of-42 from the floor (41 percent) and South O’Brien 17-of-49 (35 percent). From deep HMS went 9-for-27 and the Wolverines just 3-for-18. The Hawks sank four of eight free throws and the visitors eight of 15. Caden Douma made three steals and Alex Billings blocked a shot.
“I thought our defense was really key in this game,” said Hoaglund. “We knew South O’Brien had a few shooters that we couldn’t let get into a rhythm. We really wanted to limit their ability to move the ball around and get rhythm jump shots. Jackson Vogt was an important part of our defensive effort. He was so disruptive on the defensive end and helped to set the tone for us. We were really connected defensively and played as a unit.”
HMS got 15 points from Isaac Schierholz, 10 from Jayden Leth, eight from Vogt, six from Kolby Douma, five from Caden Douma and three from Alex Billings. The assists leaders were Schierholz with six and Vogt with three.
“Offensively, I thought we were really efficient,” Hoaglund said “I thought our shot selection was really good. We moved the ball in and around South O’Brien’s zone that led to some really good scoring opportunities that our guys were able to capitalize on. We had 15 assists on 17 made baskets which was incredible and that’s due to our guys’ unselfishness and willingness to pass up good shots for great shots. I thought Isaac had a really strong game for us. He was able to find some soft spots in their zone and was able to pick and choose when to attack and when to pass it out to open shooters. Kolby and Jayden stepped up big and were able to knock down some open threes. Jackson hit two really big threes back-to-back in the second half to give us a boost. South O’Brien keyed in a little bit on Caden and he wasn’t able to get some of the looks he normally gets. To have multiple guys be able to step up and hit shots is huge for us.”
HMS finished with a slight edge on the boards thanks in part to the 10 rebounds from Schierholz and the nine from Caden Douma. The Hawks committed 10 turnovers and South O’Brien seven.
S O’ 11 9 16 9 – 45
HMS 16 11 13 7 – 47