Off to a winning start

After losing two games in a row to close out the 2020 portion of the boys' basketball season, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn started the new year with a pair of victories over Harris-Lake Park and Hinton.

A 20-2 run in the first half propelled the Hawks to a 69-36 win over the visiting Wolves on Jan. 5

H-LP had narrowed H-M-S's early lead to two points midway through the first quarter before the Hawks scored 12 of the next 14 points to build a 20-8 advantage. They also scored eight straight points to begin the second quarter, helping to extend the lead to 35-17 at half time.

The Wolves fought back in the third quarter before six straight points extended the margin back to 20. H-M-S outscored the Wolves by 14 points over the final eight minutes.

The offense featured balanced scoring and good ball distribution. Kayl Jacobsma came off the bench to score 14 points, Lance Berends scored 13 and Ben Haack scored 11. Other scorers included Sam Heyn with nine points, Kooper Ebel with six and DJ Doyle with five. Wyatt Borden, Keevyn Jacobsma and Jordan Ortega each made a three-pointer and Dawson Schiphoff added two points.

The Hawks finished with 23 assists on 28 made field goals. Ebel dished out five assists, Ortega had four, Doyle had three, and contributing two assists each were Berends, Haack, Kayl Jacobsma and Schiphoff.

Berends led H-M-S on the glass with nine rebounds. Jacobsma grabbed eight rebounds, Ebel had five and Ortega had four. Ebel and Haack also came up with four steals while Heyn had three.

Leading scorer for H-LP (2-6) was Bubba Sohn with 12 points.

• vs. Hinton

A fourth-quarter rally helped H-M-S get past Hinton, 63-55, on Jan. 8 at Hinton.

The Hawks led 16-11 after one quarter but saw Hinton rally to eventually take a 31-29 lead into the intermission. The Blackhawks led by four at the end of the third quarter, but H-M-S limited them to seven points the rest of the game while scoring 19 points to earn the comeback win.

The Hawks struggled to make shots from the floor, converting on 23-of-59 attempts. They did have an advantage in shots taken and made baskets, and a slight edge at the free throw line.

All seven players who saw action scored, led by Berends with 16 points and Haack with 14. Jacobsma scored nine points, Ebel scored eight, Doyle and Heyn each finished with six points and Ortega added four.

The Hawks finished with a 42-28 advantage in rebounding, led by Berends and Haack with 10 rebounds each, Doyle with eight and Ebel with seven. Ebel also had five assists and three steals while Haack had four assists and Ortega had three assists and two steals.

Caleb Holmes and Gavin Nelson led Hinton (4-6) in scoring with 21 and 10 points, respectively.

H-M-S improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in War Eagle Conference play. The Hawks will host MMCRU on Jan. 15.