A thing of beauty

Wins against South O'Brien in boys' basketball haven't come often for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, so when one does you can't blame the Hawks for admiring the result.

Fast starts in both halves, balanced scoring and a great team effort all combined to give the Hawks an 80-61 win on Jan. 26 in Hartley. It was their first win against South O'Brien since 2014 and only the second since 2009.

"The total effort the kids put forth for the entire game was a thing of beauty," Hawk coach Mark Petersen acknowledged.

South O'Brien led 4-2 but not for long as H-M-S scored 11 straight points to go ahead for good. The teams traded baskets most of the second quarter before the Hawks extended the lead to 11. South O'Brien answered to cut the deficit to 32-24 at half time.

Ten straight points to open the second half pushed the Hawks' lead up to 42-24. Their biggest lead (61-40) came midway through the final period. The Wolverines cut the deficit to 11 with 1:20 to play, but H-M-S scored 10 of the final 12 points to seal the win.

"I loved the way we responded every time they would make a run at us," Petersen said.

Senior Sam Heyn led all scorers with 23 points, connecting on 7-of-8 field goal attempts and all four free throws. He also had two rebounds and two assists.

Lance Berends scored 18 points, Ben Haack scored 14, Kooper Ebel scored nine, Kayl Jacobsma scored eight and Keevyn Jacobsma scored four. The Hawks made 28-of-49 shots from the floor and 14-of-17 free throws.

Berends also had 12 rebounds, six assists and two blocks; Kayl Jacobsma had four rebounds and two blocks; Ebel had six assists, three rebounds and two steals; and Jordan Ortega had six assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Leading scorers for South O'Brien (8-7) were Josh Johannsen (19), Jake Wallin (18) and Jarome Jackson (12).

"We shared the ball and did a lot of good things on the defensive end," Petersen noted.

• vs. Boyden-Hull

Boyden-Hull, the No. 1 team in Class 2A steadily pulled away from H-M-S to earn a 72-50 win on Jan. 28 at Hull.

The Comets led 18-14 after one quarter and extended their advantage to 34-26 at half time. They continued to pull away to lead 56-40 at the end of the third quarter.

Heyn scored 11 points and Berends and Ebel scored 10. Kayl Jacobsma added seven points, Haack scored five, Keevyn Jacobsma scored four and Ortega scored three.

The Hawks made 20-of-50 attempts from the field while the Comets were 26-of-54. Both teams were whistled for 11 fouls, but Boyden-Hull was 13-of-15 at the free throw line while H-M-S was just 3-of-4.

Berends had nine rebounds; Ebel had seven assists and three rebounds; Haack had three rebounds, three assists; two steals and two blocks; Kayl Jacobsma had three rebounds and three assists; and Keevyn Jacobsma added three rebounds.

Boyden-Hull (14-0) had balanced scoring, led by Dylan Francis with 17 points, Tanner Te Slaa with 16 and Marcus Kelderman with 15.

• vs. Unity Christian

Another trip to Sioux County ended with the same result, as the Hawks were defeated by Unity Christian, 65-44, on Jan. 29 at Orange City.

The score was tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter, but Unity Christian then outscored the Hawks by nine to build a 30-21 half time lead. A big fourth quarter by the Knights increased the final margin to 19 points.

Berends led H-M-S with 12 points while Haack and Kayl Jacobsma each scored 10 and Ebel added seven.

Berends added seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists; Jacobsma had five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks; Haack had four rebounds and two blocks; Heyn had four rebounds and two assists; and Ebel had three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Knights (9-5) were led by Clayton Bosma with 28 points and Jacob Van Donge with 10.

H-M-S (8-8, 3-5) plays at Sibley-Ocheyedan on Feb. 4, hosts Akron-Westfield on Feb. 5, travels to Sioux Central for a boys' game on Feb. 8 and finishes the regular season at Harris-Lake Park on Feb. 9.