Very little has stood in the way of Harris-Lake Park and basketball victories this winter, a storyline that proved true again Monday night in a 61-35 Wolves win over visiting Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The HLP boys assumed a 16 point advantage after the first quarter, and proceeded to win every quarter from that point on. Eli Ihnen handled most of the scoring early, hitting two first half 3-pointers en route to eleven first quarter points. The junior finished with a game-high 17 points. Colin Brons helped put the game out of reach, connecting on two of his three triples in the fourth quarter to reach 15 points. The Wolves turned the ball over just six times the entire game. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn received a team-high eight points from Matt Queck. The Hawks sit at 5-9 with a third straight non-conference game on the schedule for Thursday with Boyden-Hull coming to Hartley. Harris-Lake Park remains perfect at 13-0 and returns to the hardwood Tuesday for a Cornbelt Conference showdown with West Bend-Mallard.
Click here for the postgame interview with HLP’s Colin Brons and coach Jeff Sohn.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn took advantage of nine Harris-Lake Park turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes to build a 17-4 advantage, and hung on from there for a 43-29 road win over the Wolves in girls hoops. HLP, which was playing without two of its starters, handed the ball over 20 times, leading to several fast break layups for the Hawks. Sophomore Noreen Morrow led all scorers with 15 points, thirteen of which came after halftime. Taylor Sweeney was the lone HMS player in double figures, scoring ten points, though nine different players reached the scoring column. The Hawks are back to even at 7-7 overall with Boyden-Hull on the schedule for Thursday. Harris-Lake Park falls to 6-7 and host West Bend-Mallard in league action Tuesday evening.
Click here for the postgame interview with HMS coach Mark Japenga.
In other area games the boys of Estherville-Lincoln Central tallied a 72-54 non-conference win over Ruthven-Ayrshire/Graettinger-Terril on Monday. Matt Burrell’s double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds led the Midgets, who snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 5-10 on the year. Austin Dyer paced the Raiders attack with thirteen points. RA/GT has their three-game win streak come to an end as they fall to 4-9. They return to league play on Friday at NSK/AR. ELC will host Emmetsburg in a Lakes Conference doubleheader Tuesday on Y100.
