The Greene County Rams lost both basketball games to the South Hamilton Hawks in Jefferson Tuesday.
The boys lost 70-47 as the Hawks claimed their 19th win of the season. The Hawks are among six undefeated Class 2A teams in the state. It was the first game this season in which the Rams have scored fewer than 50 points.
The Rams got the tip-off and Lance Hughes scored on the first shot of the game. Those were his only two points for the quarter and together the Rams made only nine points in the first quarter. They were down 16-9 after eight minutes of play.
The Rams’ cold shooting continued throughout the game. They were down 39-20 at the half and 59-35 after three quarters. They made 18 of 47 shots from 2-point range for 39 percent, and four of 18 from 3-point range, compared to their season averages of 46 and 37 percent respectively. Wade Adcock was the only Ram to score from the free throw line in the first half, with the Rams one for seven in the half. They finished the game a seven of 16 for 44 percent, well below their season average of 68 percent.
The Rams did not rebound particularly well, grabbing just eight of their own rebounds while the Hawks had 22 defensive rebounds. The Rams had seven defensive rebounds and the Hawks had three offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Rams’ 3-2 zone defense did little to slow down the Hawks, who were shooting well ahead of their season averages from the floor. The Hawks were potent from 3-point range, making five of nine long shots for 56 percent, ahead of their 35 percent average for the season. They shot at an amazing 70 percent from 2-point range.
Adcock led the Rams in scoring with 13 points and five rebounds. Hinote scored 10 points, Hughes scored nine, Joe Towers had five, Carter Morton sored four, Ben Wilkins scored three, Ben Braved had two points and Austin Easterlie made one point. Coach Chris Nelson gave all reserves playing time in the last three minutes of the game.
The boys are now 10-7 overall and 8-5 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference. Their next game is against Coon Rapids-Bayard in Coon Rapids Thursday.
The girls can take heart in the fact that although they lost, they scored more points than they have since they topped Saydel 55-49 in Saydel. The Rams lost to South Hamilton 54-40.
The girls played nearly even-up ball in the second and third quarters, being outscored by only one point in the second quarter and two points in the third quarter. The guests outscored the Rams by six points in the first quarter and by five in the fourth quarter. The score after one quarter was 14-8, after two it was 26-9, and after three quarters it was 40-31.
The Rams were scoreless for nearly the first three minutes of play. The Hawks had already scored nine points by then.
The referees were quick on their whistles, with many more fouls called than jump balls. For the game, the Rams were called for 23 fouls and Hawks were called for 11. The Hawks made 16 of 31 free throws for 51.6 percent. The Rams made six of nine free throws for 66.6 percent.
South Hamilton senior Marla Grubb led all scorers with 19 points. Lyons led the Rams with 14 oints. Izzy Brvard scored 12 and led in rebounds with seven. Samantha Hardaway and Bailey Cunningham scored four points each and Kassie Lamouruex, Onica Delp and Ashley Millard scored two points apiece.
The Ram girls are 5-13 overall and 2-11 in the conference. Their next game is a Mega Night in Monroe Friday. The game was a “Pink Out,” as the girls wore pink uniforms and held several fundraisers during the evening for cancer awareness and cancer research.
The Hawk girls are 8-12 overall and 6-7 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference.
