Ram basketball fans had reasons to cheer for the girls Friday night as they ended a 10 game losing streak with a convincing win over the South Hamilton Hawks in Jefferson. Their win was convincing, 61-50, as the Rams scored more than twice their season average.
That game, a high scoring game for both teams, preceded a comparatively low scoring game for the boys. Its unusual for the girls to score more points than the boys, but that’s what happened Friday. The boys lost the second game of the twin bill 55-54.
The girls’ long awaited win was their first since beating the Hawks in Jewell Dec. 8. The Hawks have now lost nine consecutive games.
The Rams more than doubled their season average of 26 points in the 61-50 win. The Hawks entered the game also averaging 26 points per game. The score was 26-25 with the Rams leading a halftime.
Sophomore Laurin Lyons had a career high game with 27 points, more points personally than the Rams have scored in nine of their 15 games. Classmate Onica Delp scored 10 points, also a career high game. Nicole Rohner scored seven points, Kenna Marquardt scored six, and Hannah Promes scored five points before leaving the game with an apparent ankle injury early in the third quarter. Sunny Mobley scored four points and Samantha Hardaway and Regan Lamoureux scored one point each.
Both teams played aggressively and the officials used their whistles considerably. The Rams were at the free throw line 31 times and made 21 of them for 68 percent. The Hawks did a feather better there, also making it to the line 31 times and scoring 22 points there. The Rams were averaging 47.6 at the line and the Hawks were averaging 43.2 percent.
Shooting, the Rams were at 42 percent, ahead of their 26 percent average. The Hawks shot at 22 percent, also ahead of their 17.5 percent average.
The win put the Rams at 3-12 overall and 3-8 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference. The Hawks are 1-14 overall and 1-10 in the conference. Their only win was a 37-35 victory over Collins-Maxwell/Baxter Dec. 15 in Jewell.
The boys ran hot and cold in their game and in the end, they needed just a bit more “hot” to claim a win. After being down by 14 points with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, the Rams lost by one point, 55-54. The Rams had lost their December game against the Hawks 76-67.
The Rams were down by three, 12-9, at the end of the first quarter. They held a 22-14 lead with two minutes to play in the half, but the Hawks made four free throws, a 2-pointer and a 3-pointer on the buzzer to take a 23-22 lead into intermission.
The Hawks scored another four points before Max Neese ended the Rams’ drought with a field goal followed by a free throw to get them Rams back within three points, 28-25. The Hawks scored the next eight points, building an 11 point lead, 25-36. In six minutes of play, the Hawks scored 14 points while the Rams scored only three. The Hawks maintained their 11 point lead to finish the quarter at 41-30.
The Rams persevered in the fourth quarter, pecking away at the Hawks’ lead. It was a two possession game, 46-42, with less than two minutes to play, and with 57 seconds left in the game the Rams were within two points at 50-48. The Hawks scored the next four points for a 54-48 score. In the last 12 seconds of play Tyler Beger made a 3-pointer, the Hawks made a free throw and Mitchell Gorsuch finished the game with a 3-pointer, his only points for the game. When the buzzer sounded, the Hawks held the one point lead for the win.
Ram lead scorer Trey Tucker, who averages 20 points per game, was injured late in the first quarter. His play was limited the rest of the game and he finished with eight points.
Neese led the Rams in scoring with 13. Trey Hinote had nine, Tyler Beger had eight, Reid Lamoureux scored six, Anthony Cunningham and Gorsuch each scored three points, and Thomas Jacobsen and Wade Adcock each scored two points.
The Rams had a total of six long baskets – two by Hinote, two by Beger, and one each by Tucker and Gorsuch. Those six came from 19 attempts for a 31.5 percent success rate.
The Rams made 19 of 55 field goals for 34.5 percent and 10 of 14 free throws for 71.4 percent.
Neese and Adcock had eight rebounds and Sico Boateng had five. Boateng and Tucker were credited with three assists.
The Ram boys are now 5-9 overall and 4-6 in the HOIAC. The Hawks are 6-7 overall and 4-5 in the HOIAC.
