The Greene County Rams got a win and a loss when they traveled to Jewell to play the South Hamilton Hawks in basketball Tuesday night.
The girls won 42-31 in a game that saw both teams scoring well ahead of their season averages to date.
In the girls game the Rams started their scoring with a 3-point shot by Taylor Wessling, the only Ram 3-pointer for the game. The Hawks scored only once in the first quarter and the Rams had a 15-2 lead at the end of the quarter. The Hawks scored eight points in the second quarter, but so did the Rams. The score at halftime was 23-10, even though the Rams didn’t score in the last 4:48 of the quarter.
The Ram drought continued into the third quarter. The Rams scored with 3:53 to play in the quarter; they went more than six minutes without scoring. The score was 33-19 at the end of the third quarter. The closest the Hawks came going down the stretch was 10 points at a 39-29 score with two minutes to play. The final was 42-31.
Fouls were plentiful. Rams were at the free throw line 24 times and the Hawks were there 26 times. Both teams made nine of their shots, putting the Rams at 37.5 percent and the Hawks at 34.6 percent.
Turnovers were also plentiful, though fewer than in previous games. The Rams had 20 turnovers and the Hawks had 22.
Laurin Lyons led the Rams in scoring with 16 points. Sunny Mobley had nine points, Wessling had seven, Nicole Rohner had six, Kenna Marquardt had three and Hannah Promes had one.
The Rams are now 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference. They play the Nevada Cubs, now ranked #1 in Class 3A, in Jefferson Thursday evening.
The boys lost 76-67. The Rams scored first on a 3-point shot by Trey Tucker and led 7-2 before the Hawks started gaining on them. The score was tied at 10 with about three minutes to play in the first quarter, but the Hawks scored seven unanswered points to take a lead the never relinquished. The Hawks were up 21-16 at the end of the first quarter and 38-32 at the end of the half with hot lay-up shooting.
It remained a six point game, plus or minus a point or two, throughout the second half. The gap was only four points, 65-61, with three minutes to play, but just as lay-ups defined the first half, free throws defined the fourth quarter. The Rams were whistled for a total of 25 fouls in the game. The Hawks made 22 of 30 free throws (73 percent), 12 of them in the fourth quarter. The Rams got to the line 15 times and made nine of the shots for 60 percent.
The Rams were 42 percent shooting overall and the Hawks were 56 percent.
Tucker, after scoring the first points of the game, scored only one more point in the first half. He finished the game with 21 points, including two 3-point shots. Tyler Beger scored 14 points including three 3-pointers. Tucker and Beger both fouled out of the game.
Trey Hinote scored 13 points with three 3-pointers, Max Neese scored 12 points, Mitchell Gorsuch scored three points on a 3-pointer in the first quarter, and Reid Lamoureux and Wade Adcock scored two points each.
South Hamilton senior Collin Hill led all scorers with 22 points.
The Ram boys are now 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the HOIAC. The Hawks are 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the HOIAC.
Thursday night’s games are part of a Mega Night, with the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams all playing, either at the middle school or the Greene County Community Center. The Rams do not play this Friday night.
