The South Hamilton Hawks basketball teams returned to action on Tuesday night, as the Hawks made the trip to Calhoun County to take on the Titans of South Central Calhoun at South Central Calhoun Middle School in Rockwell City. The Hawks girls entered at 1-0, while the Hawk boys were in their season-opener.
South Hamilton’s girls started off in a tight one throughout, as the Hawks trailed 10-8 after the first quarter, but a big 2nd quarter propelled South Central Calhoun out to a 31-21 halftime lead. Mark Henderson’s squad then kicked it into gear in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Titans 21-15 to cut the score to 46-42 going into the 4th quarter. The two sides would go back and forth, but it was South Central Calhoun who would hold on for a 61-55 win. Makena Galetich scored a game-high 20 points for South Hamilton, along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, while Ashlyn Erickson added 12 points. Breanne Patterson scored a team-high 16 points for South Central Calhoun.
The boys game followed, which proved to be a defensive slugfest, after last year’s shootout between the two. South Hamilton would hold a 10-9 edge after he first quarter, but a big 2nd quarter put the Hawks ahead 27-18 at the halftime break. South Central Calhoun would come out of the gate swinging in the 2nd half, outscoring South Hamilton 16-7 in the 3rd quarter tie the score at 34-34 going into the 4th. This one went right down to the wire, but South Hamilton would come away with a hard-fought 47-44 win. Ty Koehnk was the Hawks leading scorer with 14 points, while Ryland Ubben added 12 points, South Central Calhoun’s Gavin Batta scored 30 of his team’s 44 points on the night.
South Hamilton returns to action on Thursday night, when they travel to Iowa Falls to take on Iowa Falls-Alden in non-conference action.