H-LP boys cruise past W-CL-T

The Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team overcame a sloppy start with a solid defense and an opportunistic offense en route to a 62-38 win over Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka Monday, Feb. 1 in Cornbelt Conference play.

The Wolves and Tigers combined for a total of 10 points five minutes into the contest, but H-LP jumped ahead 15-5 after holding the W-CL-T scoreless over the next five and a half minutes. Justin Murphy capped off the 10-0 spurt with a basket.

With 2:30 left in the first half, Lee Vellema gave the Wolves its largest lead at 26-10.

H-LP took a 28-12 advantage into halftime, but came out flat in the second half. The Tigers pulled back to within 29-19 with a 7-1 run.

The Wolves came out in a full-court press after a timeout by head coach Jeff Sohn, which allowed them to regain the momentum. A three-point play by Murphy increased the lead to 36-19 with 4:25 on the clock, then Murphy dished to Brady Nissen in the paint for a hoop and a foul. Nissen connected on the free throw to push the Wolf lead to 39-22.

Kade Heikens and Tanner Hiveley both scored baskets in the final minute that extended the lead to 21 points.

"We didn't have a very good start to the second half, but we did pick up the intensity a little bit two or three minutes into the third (quarter)," said Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn. "We clamped down on them, forced them to go faster than they wanted to and forced some errant passes, which we converted on the other end."

Murphy converted two baskets during a 12-second span of the fourth quarter to put H-LP on top 54-30. With 2:54 remaining, Hiveley put the exclamation point on the victory by building the lead to 60-30 with a basket on the fast-break.

The Tigers outscored the H-LP subs 8-2 in the final two minutes of play. Chase Stohr and Logan Kunkel both splashed in three-balls down the stretch, but the Wolves scored the final tally when Ryan Mann hit Colin Brons with a bounce pass that he scored on with five seconds left in the game.

"It's nice to get those guys in the game," Sohn said about his reserves playing increased minutes in the past two victories. "Those guys deserve a lot of credit. It's always nice to keep those starters fresh, plus it's good experience to get some younger guys on the court and see how they do. And it's not just been a couple of minutes, but it's been extended minutes, which is nice to see."

The H-LP subs have logged extensive minutes throughout all four quarters wins over Corwith-Wesley-LuVerne and W-CL-T.

The Wolves shot 24-of-57 from inside the arc and made 8-of-13 free throws in the outing. They were hurt by 22 turnovers, but had 13 steals and 39 rebounds -- 13 of the offensive variety.

"We need to do a lot better job on the boards," Sohn said. "The last couple of games we've been really lacking on the defensive boards and that's something we really need to focus on if we're going to be competitive toward the end of the season. But we'll keep emphasizing it and working on it."

Murphy led H-LP with 16 points. Nissen chipped in 13 points, followed by Eli Ihnen with 11 points. Hiveley also tossed in eight points off the bench to go along with four steals. Murphy and Mychal Sheridan both had three assists. Nissen added two steals, two assists and two blocked shots while Eli Ihnen and Jacob Ihnen finish with 10 rebounds (six offensive) and nine rebounds, respectively.

Harris-Lake Park improves to 7-8 overall with its second victory in a row. The Wolves currently sit in a two-way tie for fifth place with North Sentral Kossuth.