The South Hamilton Hawks basketball teams returned to action on Monday night, as they hosted the Saydel Eagles in Heart of Iowa Conference action at South Hamilton High School in Jewell. The Hawk girls entered at 10-6, while the Hawk boys entered at 14-1.
Mark Henderson’s squad looked to bounce back into the win column on Monday night, and got off on the right foot by taking a 15-7 lead after the first quarter. However, Saydel managed to keep tight in the 2nd, as the Hawks led just 21-16 going into halftime. From there, the Hawks began to turn defense to offense, outscoring the Eagles 37-20 in the 2nd half en route to a 58-36 win. Ashlyn Erickson finished with a game-high 16 points, while Paige Rummans had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds for Saydel.
The Hawk boys followed looking to extend their stellar start, and got off to a fast one against the Eagles, leading 10-0 early, and up 14-6 after the first quarter. Saydel would not go quietly, clamping down on the defensive end in the 2nd quarter as South Hamilton led 21-14 at halftime. The Eagles would make a big push to start the 2nd half, battling to take the lead at 23-21. South Hamilton would eventually regain control and never look back, despite another late Saydel push, for a 53-46 win. Ryland Ubben had a game-high 20 points for the Hawks, while Ty Koehnk added 17 points.
South Hamilton basketball returns to action on Tuesday, when they host Nevada in Heart of Iowa Conference action.