Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn’s rally fell just short as West Sioux escaped the Hawks 54-53 January 21 at Hawarden. With the loss HMS fell to 1-5 in the War Eagle Conference and 5-8 overall.
The Hawks trailed 39-34 entering the fourth quarter but five points by Lance Berends brought HMS to within a point at 40-39. The Falcons moved back out to 48-41 lead and were in front 54-47 with 1:24 remaining. Kooper Ebel scored a basket then got a steal and a dunk to draw the Hawks within three at 54-51. West Sioux turned the ball over with 30 seconds left but Ebel missed a tying three from the corner with 10 seconds remaining. The Hawks got the ball out of bounds and Ebel scored from the lane but there was less than a second remaining. The Falcons threw a three-quarter court inbounds pass and when it was touched the time expired leaving HMS a point short.
Ebel finished with 19 points and Berends with 18. Keevyn Jacobsma added six points, Mason Brinkman and Travis Kamradt three apiece and Trenton Vollink and Jordan Ortega two each. Ebel supplied five assists, Brinkman three and Berends two.
The Falcons hit their free throws down the stretch and for the game were 12-of-13 at the line. HMS made seven of its 13 charity tosses. The Hawks were 22-of-48 from the floor (46 percent) including 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. West Sioux hit 41 percent of their shots (20-of-49) and that included a 2-of-19 effort from downtown.
Ebel made two steals and Brinkman one. Berends added another steal and blocked four shots. The Falcons had eight turnovers compared to 16 for HMS.
The Hawks finished with a huge 45-19 advantage on the boards. That included 16 offensive rebounds. Berends pulled down 21 total rebounds, Ebel 13 and Jacobsma seven.
HMS 8 16 10 19 – 53
W. Sioux 13 14 12 15 – 54