Hawk boys survive Trinity Christian in two OT District tussle
After surviving a scare at the end of regulation and playing through a first overtime, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn outscored Trinity Christian 8-0 in the second extra session to defeat the Tigers 63-55 in a Class 1A District 2 quarterfinal played February 14 at Hartley. In the second overtime Lance Berends scored two baskets and the Hawks sank four of eight free throws. Meanwhile, Trinity missed five shots, had one blocked and committed an offensive foul.
With just under three minutes left in regulation HMS took its first lead since late in the first quarter. The game was tied when the Tigers’ Ethan Kooima was fouled on the way to the basket. The senior stepped to the free throw line with just :01.7 left in regulation. Although he finished the game with 24 points Kooima was unable to convert either of those foul shots and the teams moved on to the first overtime tied 50-50.
A bucket by Berends and a pair of free throws by Kooper Ebel gave the Hawks a 54-50 lead in the initial OT. Kooima responded with a traditional three-point play to draw Trinity within one. Mason Brinkman made the second of two charity tosses but Kooima scored on a baseline drive with three seconds left to extend the game another four minutes. Those would be the Tigers’ final points of the evening.
“We survived a wild one against Trinity Christian,” remarked HMS head coach Naet Hoaglund. “I thought we got off to a good start offensively. We pushed the ball and moved the ball really well creating scoring opportunities.”
The Hawks led 15-13 after one. “Defensively we just didn’t have a lot of urgency getting out to shooters and credit Trinity Christian for knocking down some open shots,” said Hoaglund.
With more than half the second quarter yet to be played, Ebel picked up his third foul and went to the bench. “That was a big momentum shift for Trinity Christian as they continued to knock down open threes,” noted the Hawk coach. “Without Kooper in the game we struggled to create advantages on the offensive end and things became stagnant.” A 9-0 run by the Tigers to close the first half gave them a 28-23 lead at intermission.
The Hawks found themselves down by 11 in the third quarter. “We needed something to spark us so we started pressuring with our three-quarter-court defense,” explained Hoaglund. “Although it didn’t really force too many turnovers, I think it made us play with more urgency. We were able to cut that 11 point deficit to five heading into the fourth quarter where we continued to make a run at it.”
The Hawk coach credited Travis Kamradt and Brinkman for each nailing a big three in the final quarter. He cited a couple of costly mistakes in the fourth and missed free throws in the first overtime with preventing the Hawks from sealing the win. “In that second OT we were able to get Lance a couple of baskets and then were finally able to hit enough free throws to put the game out of reach,” said Hoaglund. “This time of year, we’ll take wins anyway we can get them. It wasn’t pretty by any means but I’m proud of how our guys persevered when things didn’t look very good for us.”
Berends went 10-for-12 from the floor (including draining his only three-point try) and 8-for-11 at the free throw line to finish with 29 points. Ebel contributed 12 points, Kamradt nine, Brinkman seven and Keevyn Jacobsma and Jordan Ortega three apiece. Ebel, Brinkman and Berends each assisted on a pair of baskets.
The Hawks owned a 38-22 advantage on the boards. Leading the way were Berends with 16 rebounds, Ebel with nine, Brinkman with five and Jacobsma with four. Berends blocked four shots and Ebel came away with two steals. There were seven Tiger turnovers while HMS turned the ball over nine times.
The stats showed Trinity with 21 baskets in 64 attempts to shoot 33 percent. That included 11-of-37 from beyond the arc. The Hawks were 6-of-17 from long range and 18-of-40 overall (45 percent). HMS converted 21 of 37 foul shots. The Tigers attempted just five free throws, making two.
Trinity 13 15 11 11 5 0 – 55
HMS 15 8 11 16 5 8 – 63