Domination on both ends of the floor

The margin of victory wasn't a record, but the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn boys' basketball team's 55-point win over Woodbury Central was among the most lopsided in recent memory.

The Hawks dominated on both ends of the floor during the 73-18 season-opening win on Dec. 1 at Moville. It was the H-M-S boys' biggest win since an 82-14 defeat of Clay Central/Everly during the 2013-14 season.

Offensively, the Hawks made 50 percent of their shots from the field, grabbed 16 rebounds and distributed 21 assists on 32 made shots. H-M-S also dominated defensively, holding the Wildcats to 13 percent shooting (6-of-45) and coming up with 21 steals. The Hawks also played a clean game, committing just five turnovers.

"I was happy for our guys to come out and compete the way they did," said Hawk coach Naet Hoaglund. "We had an attack mindset from the opening tip to the end of the game. I thought we ran the floor hard and played with great pace and space."

H-M-S led 24-8 after the first quarter and extended the margin to 45-15 at half time. The Hawks' advantage was 61-18 at the end of the third quarter and they held Woodbury Central scoreless during the final eight minutes.

Lance Berends and Kooper Ebel both scored 23 points to lead H-M-S. Other scorers were Lucas Kroese with seven, Keevyn Jacobsma with six, Landen Elwood with five, Travis Kamradt with four; Ethan Diehm and Trenton Vollink with two each; and Isaac Schierholz with one point.

Berends also grabbed 10 rebounds, Jacobsma had nine, Ebel had eight and Tyson Tessum finished with four.

Ebel recorded seven steals, six assists and two blocks; Berends had three blocks, two assists and two steals; Elwood had two assists and two steals; and Kroese and Tessum also had two steals.

"I was impressed with Keevyn's effort on the boards," Hoaglund said. "Lucas had a great game coming off the bench and Landen also had a nice game. To have that kind of spark from the bench is huge and very important for us going forward."

• vs. Trinity Christian

H-M-S and Trinity Christian often play tightly-contested boys' basketball games, but their first meeting of the 2022-23 season was anything but competitive. H-M-S built a 24-point halftime lead and rolled to a 57-24 win on Dec. 2 at Hull.

The Hawks broke out to a 16-7 advantage and outscored Trinity Christian by 15 in the second quarter. H-M-S built on its 37-13 half time lead with a 15-3 scoring run in the third quarter to make the score 52-16.

"I was happy with our energy and effort against Trinity Christian," Hoaglund said. "I thought our defense was the key in the game. Trinity Christian had to really work for everything they got."

Ebel scored 20 points, Kamradt scored 10, Berends scored nine and Jacobsma scored eight. Also contributing offensively were Elwood with four points and Diehm and Vollink with three each. H-M-S made 22-of-43 shots from the floor.

Berends pulled down 10 rebounds and added three blocks and two assists; Ebel had nine rebounds, six assists and two steals; Tessum had four rebounds; Jacobsma had three rebounds; Kamradt and Vollink each contributed three assists.

"I thought we shared the basketball extremely well," Hoaglund noted. "Trinity ran a box-and-one on Lance and made it difficult for him to get going, but I'm proud of how our guys just took what was there for them."

The Hawks (2-0) host Remsen St. Mary's on Dec. 9, Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire on Dec. 12 and Akron-Westfield on Dec. 13.