Two victories for Hornet cagers

Harvey-Wells County has three seniors, and they continue to help the Hornets dominate the final games of the season.

Tate Grossman scored 48, Gabe Allmaras 41 and Brock Fike 18 in HWC's two wins this past week, helping the Hornets solidify a #3 seed in the upcoming Region 4 basketball tournament.

The three seniors have not only dominated the scoring column, they have dominated the boards and especially the offensive boards helping HWC to many second chance scoring opportunities.

HWC has won six straight games leading up to their showdown with Four Winds-Minnewaukan on Friday, February 24. This past week, HWC earned solid wins against Benson County and Langdon/Edmore/Munich.

HWC 66, Benson Co. 53

Benson County didn't go away easily, but the Hornets managed to put some distance between them and the Wildcats in a 66-53 win on Friday, February 17, in Maddock.

After a pretty tight start, a Fike three-pointer opened the lead to 10-5. The Hornets expanded on that with a Keaton Keller two-and-one and an Allmaras field goal to lead, 19-11, after eight minutes. Lane Benson, Logan Maddock and Gunnar Larson all hit threes for Benson County in the first.

Another good quarter for the Hornets ensued with a solid defensive effort from HWC. The lead grew to 14 on a field goal from Noah Ziegler, but a three from Paxton Neppl cut the lead to 10. The Hornets finished the half on a 6-0 run to lead, 33-17, at the half.

Allmaras drained a three to open the second half, but the Wildcats pretty much controlled the third quarter. Neppl connected on three three-pointers, and Larson scored six points as Benson County cut the lead to 10 at 47-37 after three.

Neppl drained his fifth three pointer of the game, as the Wildcats started the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run and pulled to within six at 49-43. A field goal from Macyn Olson cut the HWC lead to five, but that was all the closer the Hornets were going to allow.

Allmaras hit his second three of the game and moved the lead back to 58-48, but Benson County had one last effort left. Field goals from Logan Fossen and Maddock cut the lead to eight before HWC hit the final four three throws of the game for a 66-53 victory.

Allmaras led the Hornets on the night with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Grossman followed closely with 19 points and seven assists. Keller was also in doubles with 11 points, and also pulled down seven rebounds.

Neppl led the Wildcats with 17 points, including five triples, with four in the second half. Larson and Maddock were also in doubles with 11 points each.

The win moved the Hornets to 14-5 overall and 7-2 in Region 4, while the loss dropped Benson County to 5-15.

HWC 77, L/E/M 55

Senior night is for the seniors, and on this particular senior night, the seniors of Harvey-Wells County gave the crowd a great show.

Grossman, Allmaras and Fike combined for 62 points in a 77-55 victory over the visiting L/E/M Cardinals on Saturday, February 18, in Harvey.

The first quarter offense for HWC was mostly from Grossman. The 6'5" guard scored 10 of the Hornets' 18 points. HWC tried to pull away, but junior Rayce Worley's two three-pointers kept the Cardinals close. Allmaras and Grossman scored the final four points of the first for a 18-15 HWC lead.

Grossman started the second with five quick points, and helped move the Hornet lead to seven. Allmaras stepped in and cleaned up the boards and scored six points in the quarter. Ziegler's three to end the half moved the Hornet lead to 36-28.

Grossman once again started the second half with five quick points, and the lead grew to 13. The Hornet defense stepped it up several notches in the third with shot blocks, steals and just overall hustle, as they held the Cardinals to just 10 points. The Hornets scored 11 straight points, including a Grossman dunk, that helped propel HWC to a 59-38 lead after three.

The final quarter belonged to Fike. The senior starter couldn't miss, as he knocked down four consecutive three-pointers, giving him five on the night, as the Hornets shut down any comeback attempt and claimed the 22-point victory. Worley tried to keep the Cardinals in the game, as he scored 12 in the fourth quarter.

Leading the way for HWC on the night was Grossman with 29 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks. Allmaras scored 19 and pulled down 12 boards, while Fike added 15 more points as the Hornets moved their season record to 15-5 on the season and 8-2 in Region 4.

The Cardinals were led by 23 points from Worley. Cody Amble pulled down 10 boards, while Nickolas Kingzett had five assists. The loss dropped LAEM to 8-12 overall and 4-6 in Region 4.

Region 4 Boys' Basketball

HWC 66, Benson Co. 53

at Maddock

HWC 19 14 14 19 66

BC 11 6 20 16 53

HWC: Gabe Allmaras 23, Tate Grossman 19, Keaton Keller 11, Noah Ziegler 6, Tallen Thorson 4, Brock Fike 3.

Benson Co.: Paxton Neppl 17, Gunnar Larson 11, Logan Maddock 11, Lane Benson 7, Logan Fossen 5, Macyn Olson 2.

HWC Additional Stats

Rebounds: Allmaras 14, Keller 7, Fike, Thorson and Ziegler 4, Grossman and Teagan Tipton 1.

Assists: Grossman 7, Thorson 5, Keller 2, Fike, Tipton and Ziegler 1.

Steals: Grossman 3, Allmaras 2, Keller, Thorson and Ziegler 1.

Blocks: Allmaras 2.

Benson Co. Additional Stats

Rebounds: Olson 6, Benson 5, Larson and Neppl 4, Maddock 1.

Assists: Grossman 7, Thorson 5, Keller 2, Fike and Ziegler 1.

Steals: Benson, Fossen and Olson 2, Neppl 1.

HWC 77,

Langdon/Edmore/Munich 55

at Harvey

L/E/M 15 13 10 17 55

HWC 18 18 23 18 77

HWC: Grossman 29, Allmaras 18, Fike 15, Ziegler 9, Keller 2, Tipton 2, Kayl Sieg 2.

Langdon/E/M: Rayce Worley 23, Cody Amble 8, Jack Romfo 8, Levi Swanson 6, Mason Christianson 3, Jayden Lee 3, Nickolas Kingzett 2, Nathan Kitchin 2.

HWC Additional Stats

Rebounds: Allmaras 12, Grossman 10, Keller 4, Thorson 2, Ty Jenner, Tipton and Ziegler 1.

Assists: Grossman and Thorson 3, Fike and Ziegler 2, Keller and Avery Williams 1.

Steals: Grossman 4, Allmaras, Keller and Thorson 1.

Blocks: Grossman 2.

L/E/M Statistical Leaders

Rebounds: Amble 10, Romfo 6, Kingzett 5.

Assists: Kingzett 5, Amble 3.

Steals: Amble 2.

Blocks: Worley 1.