MMCRU played like the third-ranked team in Class 1A, dispatching Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 64-40 January 28 at Marcus. The Royals defense helped HMS to commit 29 turnovers in the War Eagle Conference game.
“I thought we competed hard against a top-10 MMCRU team,” commented Hawk head coach Naet Hoaglund. “We knew going in that it would be a tall task but wanted to find areas to compete and get better in. We wanted to limit our turnovers, and in particular, our live ball turnovers that lead to baskets. I thought that other than a few periods in the first and third quarters we did that. We still had a lot more turnovers than we’d like. I thought our poise with the ball was much better than the first time we played them. I thought our defense was better this time around. MMCRU is athletic and they play connected on both ends of the court. They always know where their teammates are and play so unselfish that they are hard to defend, especially when they play at the pace they like. I thought our guys continued to compete throughout the game. We played really hard despite the score and I think we got better because of it. Each game is an opportunity to compete and get better whether it’s a win or a loss, that’s especially important this time of year when we want to be playing our best basketball as we approach tournament time. I thought our guys made the most of their opportunity and I’m proud of the effort they played with.”
HMS got 13 points from Isaac Schierholz, nine from Caden Douma, eight from Alex Billings, six from Jayden Leth, three from Kolby Doula and one from Jackson Vogt. Caden Douma added nine rebounds and three assists.
HMS 6 11 8 15 – 40
MMCRU 18 17 19 10 – 64