Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn hosted a non-conference basketball doubleheader against Laurens-Marathon on Monday, and split the pair of games with the Chargers. The Hawks were the better team in the girls’ contest, winning 48-27. The game turned in the second quarter when HMS outscored Laurens-Marathon by a 17-6 margin. Sophomore Katie Mills was the lone player in double digits for the Hawks with 17 points, while Liana Sullivan paced the Chargers with ten points. Laurens-Marathon falls to 2-18 on the season. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, at 11-10 this year, will try to clinch their first non-losing season since 1998 when they host rival South O’Brien on Tuesday night.
Click here for the postgame interview with HMS girls coach Mark Japenga.
The second quarter was key in deciding the outcome of the boys’ game between Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and Laurens-Marathon. The Chargers pushed a one-point lead to eight points by half, eventually winning 51-44. Freshman Blake Simons continued his impressive play with a team-high 16 points for the Hawks. The Chargers finished with a pair of players in double figures, with Seth Hersom and Tyler Stumbo tallying 17 and 16 points, respectively. Laurens-Marathon, which turned the ball over just five times in the game, improves to 7-12 overall. HMS sits at 8-13 with a home contest against the rival Wolverines of South O’Brien set for Tuesday night.
Emmetsburg hit the road for a non-conference twinbill Monday, traveling to West Bend-Mallard and splitting the two games with the Wolverines. The E-Hawks snuck out a close, 54-51 win in the boys’ contest, sending Emmetsburg to an 11-8 overall record. In the girls’ game, it was West Bend-Mallard coming out on top of a white-knuckler, 40-39. The loss sends the E-Hawks to a 9-10 mark on the season. Both Emmetsburg squads return to the floor this evening for a Lakes Conference doubleheader at home against Cherokee, with coverage on Y100.
One other non-conference doubleheader split on Monday was between North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted and Humboldt. The Eagles won the opener, 45-33 in the girls’ matchup, but would fall 49-30 at the end of the boys’ game.
Over in the Siouxland Conference, Sibley-Ocheyedan swept a pair of league games over Rock Valley on the road. The Generals were five points better in the girls’ pairing, winning 49-44, to improve to 7-10 in league play. As for the boys, they pulled away for a 78-65 victory, marking their sixth conference win compared to ten losses.
North of the border, the boys of Jackson County Central lit up the scoreboard for an 80-46 win over New Ulm, and Fairmont scored a 66-58 decision over Windom. On the girls side, Martin County West lost in their opener at the Valley Conference Tournament by a 52-35 margin against Granada-Huntley-East Chain.
