Hornets sweep two-game swing

The holiday break for the HWC boys basketball team was short-lived, as the Hornets found themselves paired up with the Towner-Granville-Upham (TGU) Titans and the Parshall/North Shore-Plaza Braves. The Hornets also found a couple of wins and some needed playing time during the games, as they defeated the Titans by eight and the Braves by 19.

HWC 54, TGU 46

The Hornets and Titans met on Friday, December 30 for a non-regional boys basketball matchup at Harvey High School. A 11-2 run late in the third quarter gave the boost the Hornets needed to claim the victory.

Experience vs. youth was the name of the game, as the Hornets' starting roster included three seniors and two juniors, whereas the Titans started a junior, three sophomores and a freshman. The game plan for TGU was obvious: slow down the transition game of HWC and see where the cards fall.

In the first half, the plan worked well, as the Titans led, 4-2, early. Keaton Keller scored six first quarter points as the Hornets led 12-6 late. The Titans' Jaxon Nelson made two free-throws and a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, but a bucket by Gabe Allmaras gave HWC a three-point lead after eight minutes.

The game got really slow in the second quarter, as the Hornets slowly moved out to a 19-11 lead. Sage Hanson's basket with 1:15 left in the first quarter were the first points for TGU in the second, and were followed by a deuce from Luke Jorde. A nice reverse layup by Tate Grossman moved the lead back to six, but Hanson drained a three at the buzzer to cut the Hornet lead to 21-18 at the half.

A field goal by Grossman to start the second half was followed up by a three pointer by Teagan Tipton to give HWC a 26-20 lead. A 7-2 run by TGU cut the lead to just one point midway through the third. The Hornet's outside shooting got a boost late in the third with Tipton, Noah Ziegler and Allmaras all knocking down long range shots as the HWC lead grew to eight at 39-31 after three.

Keller scored four early in the fourth and Allmaras added a two-and-one as the Hornet lead was 48-34. The Titan youth were resilient. Back-to-back three-pointers from Hanson and a bucket from Karson Haman dwindled the lead to just 48-42, but HWC got back on track with Ziegler's second three of the game as the Hornets withheld another TGU comeback and claimed a 54-46 victory.

Grossman led all scorers in the game with 16 points, which included going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Allmaras and Keller were also in doubles with 12 and 10, respectively, and Grossman and Keller shared high rebounds for the game with eight each.

TGU was led by the 6'6" freshman Hanson, who scored 15 including three three-pointers. Jaxon Nelson scored 12 and Ty Schmit added 11 for the Titans.

With the win, HWC improves to 2-2 on the season while TGU drops to 2-4 overall.

HWC 66,

Parshall/North Shore-Plaza 45

Harvey-Wells County scored the first 17 points of the third quarter, and held the Braves scoreless for the first 5:30 of the same quarter, propelling the Hornets to a 66-45 win over Parshall/North Shore- Plaza (PNSP) on Saturday, December 31, at the Minot State Dome.

The Hornets and Braves had a slow start and took the first quarter to adjust to the big arena. Grossman scored six and Ziegler added five, while Joaquin Powell scored six for the Braves as the Hornets led 14-12 after eight minutes.

Avery Williams's three- pointer midway through the second gave HWC a 10-point lead at 24-14. Powell added six points for PNSP late in the third, but the Hornets maintained a 30-24 lead at the half.

A 17-0 run by the Hornets to open the third pretty much put the game out of reach. Ziegler knocked down two treys and Brock Fike added another to help the Hornets open up a 47-24 lead with 2:30 left in the third. Fike added another three and Grossman drained a three as HWC's lead was 57-33 after three.

Many of the Hornet and Brave junior varsity players found some valuable playing time late in the game, with the Hornets claiming the 66-45 victory.

Grossman led all scorers with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Ziegler added 17 more points in his first-ever varsity start. Grossman also added seven assists for the near triple-double.

The Braves were led by Powell's 13 points, of which 12 were scored in the first half.

The win moved the Hornets' season record to 3-2 overall while PNSP dropped to 1-2.

Nonregion Boys Basketball

HWC 54, TGU 46

at Harvey

TGU 11 7 18 15 46

HWC 14 7 18 15 54

HWC: Tate Grossman 16, Gabe Allmaras 12, Keaton Keller 10, Noah Ziegler 8, Teagan Tipton 6, Avery Williams 2.

TGU: Sage Hanson 15, Jaxon Nelson 12, Ty Schmit 11, Karson Haman 4, Luke Jorde 4.

HWC Additional Stats

Rebounds: Grossman and Keller 8, Allmaras 5, Brock Fike 3, Ziegler 1.

Assists: Fike 4, Allmaras 3, Tipton 2, Grossman, Keller and Ziegler 1.

Steals: Grossman 3, Fike, Keller and Williams 1.

Blocks: Allmaras and Grossman 1.

HWC 66,

Parshall/North Shore-Plaza 45

at MSU Dome

HWC 14 16 27 9 66

PNSP 12 12 9 12 45

HWC: Grossman 23, Ziegler 17, Allmaras 9, Fike 6, Keller 4, Tipton 4, Williams 3.

Parshall/NSP: Joaquin Powell 13, Tyson Odermann 10, Kayden Four Bear 8, River Querikiol 6, Rylie Rogers 5, Francis Old Rock 4.

HWC Additional Stats

Rebounds: Grossman 13, Allmaras 9, Fike and Keller 5, Ashton Reimche, Kayl Sieg, Williams and Ziegler 1.

Assists: Grossman 7, Ziegler 3, Fike, Keller and Williams 2, Tipton 1.

Steals: Allmaras 5, Grossman 3, Tipton and Ziegler 1.

Blocks: Allmaras 1.