Five Takeaways: South Hamilton at West Marshall
Logan Peters STATE CENTER — South Hamilton, Class 2A’s third ranked team got all they wanted and more on Saturday night, holding on to beat a game West Marshall team and pick up a solid road win, 66-64. Coming off…
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Continue ReadingSTATE CENTER — South Hamilton, Class 2A’s third ranked team got all they wanted and more on Saturday night, holding on to beat a game West Marshall team and pick up a solid road win, 66-64.
Coming off a disappointing Friday night loss to AGWSR in which they were outscored 23-10 in the fourth quarter, it looked like West Marshall might get blown on early on Saturday evening, as South Hamilton jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game, with their defensive pressure causing all sorts of issues for the Trojans’ guards. West Marshall rebounded a bit and fought back to trail just 37-32 at the half.
The Trojans were able to fight all the way back and get it tied at 45 with about a minute remaining in the third quarter before a late Sam Lewis bucket plus the foul gave the Hawks a 3-point lead that they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way, although they made it interesting with some poor free throw shooting down the stretch. South Hamilton had an eight point lead with one minute left before 3s from Isaiah Borgos and Alex Halter sandwiched a pair of missed free throws by Cade Balvanz, pulling West Marshall within a pair, 64-62 with 7.6 left to play. Conner Hill made a tough shot while getting fouled to make it 66-62, giving Sout Hamilton the hard fought win.
South Hamilton (3-0) was led by Logan Peters and Conner Hill, who each scored 20 points in the win. Peters was particularly good in the first half, scoring 15 of his points in the first 16 minutes on 6-6 shooting. Hill contributed nine rebounds and five assists, finding ways to contribute on a night in which he struggled with his shot (9-24).
West Marshall (0-2) had four players score in double figures, with Cam Bannister, Isaiah Borgos and Alex Halter each scoring 14, and Joe Halverson adding 12. The Trojans have played their first two games without star guard Peyton Pope, who is set to begin practicing on Monday and should be back fairly soon.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
South Hamilton | 21 | 16 | 11 | 18 | 66 |
West Marshall | 13 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 64 |
Individual scoring
South Hamilton: Logan Peters 20, Conner Hill 20, Samuel Lewis 8, Cade Balvanz 8, Quinton Grove 4, Aaron Hegland 4, Carter Hewitt 2
West Marshall: Cam Bannister 14, Isaiah Borgos 14, Alex Halter 14, Joe Halverson 12, Gabe Jones 4, Joshua Larsen 4, Seth Diser 2
Logan Peters’ sweet stroke
Peters was automatic in the first half for the Hawks, going 6-6 from the floor (3-3 from the arc), en route to 15 first half points. What was most impressive about the shooting display was the picturesque stroke he displayed. The net barely moved on his makes, and he showed the ability to shoot off the catch and the dribble, from the arc and the mid-range. He looked primed for a big senior season playing alongside Conner Hill, which should get him plenty of open looks from behind the arc, and he could turn out to be one of the state’s premier shooters this season.
Conner Hill contributes despite poor shooting
The Morningside commit played the best game of his career on Friday night in their win over Greene County, scoring 31 points (11-13 shooting) to go with 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. He really struggled with his shot in this one, however, going just 9-24 from the floor (1-6 from 3) en route to his 20 points. But again, he contributed in a big way, pulling down nine rebounds and dishing out four assists while playing his usual strong defense. Many players would let the poor shooting night leak into the rest of their game, but Hill played well in other areas to ensure his team would get the win. Morningside is getting a good one.
West Marshall once again filled with shooters
Only two teams in the state (North Linn, Des Moines North) made more 3s than West Marshall did last season, as the Trojans made 229 of them in their 23 games, just under 10 makes a night. Well, they’re loaded with shooting again this year. Three players made multiple 3s in this game in Joe Halverson (4-8), Isaiah Borgos (3-6) and Alex Halter (4-8), as they went 12-25 (48%) from behind the arc as a team in the loss. Soon, they’ll get to add Peyton Pope back into that arsenal, and Cam Bannister is a solid shooter as well. The Trojans don’t have much size, but they’re going to be able to put five shooting threats on the floor at almost all times this winter, and they’ll be able to spread the floor better than any team in the state.
Key injured players
Each team was playing without a key player, as South Hamilton is currently without Cole Berg and West Marshall is without Peyton Pope. Berg averaged 11 points a game for the Hawks last season, and was the team’s second leading rebounder. He tore his meniscus during the football season, but they expect to have him back after the holiday break. He’s a key cog to this unit on both ends of the floor. And Pope, who is expected to return to practice on Monday, is one of the most important pieces for any 2A team in the state. He led the Trojans in scoring last season, averaging 21 points a game, and he’s one of the state’s best shooters. He made 89 3s last season (third in the state), and did so at a 48.6% clip. Watch out when West Marshall throws him back into the mix with the number of shooters they already put on the floor.
A playoff preview?
There is a decent chance that these two teams could end up meeting each other in postseason play, possibly in the substate final? They’ve already played one great game, and that was with each missing a key player. If they meet up again in late February with a trip to State on the line, they could play a classic.