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23 AND COUNTING

No. 3 Hawks pummel CGD?in 2A?district final, back to substate

South Hamilton junior Cole Berg (5) scores in transition and is fouled by CGD’s Rhett Darland (15) as a large Hawks’ crowd watches during the third quarter on Tuesday in Webster City. No. 3-ranked South Hamilton buried the Cowboys, 76-50, in the Class 2A District 14 final. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WEBSTER CITY — It might have been on one of Logan Peters’ many transition buckets. Possibly on Conner Hill’s slashing fast-break basket. Or maybe on Cole Berg’s 3-pointer from the wing.

Whether it was one singular play or just the relentless onslaught that South Hamilton brought, at some point in the second quarter Clarion-Goldfield-Dows broke inside the Webster City High School gymnasium Tuesday night.

And the Hawks knew it, too.

“We had them gassed in the second quarter and we knew we just needed to keep the pedal to the medal,” Hill, South Hamilton’s talented junior shooting guard, said after the third-ranked Hawks blitzed CGD, 76-50, in the Class 2A District 14 final. “When we extended that lead we took it to them.”

Leading 14-12 when it shifted into another gear, South Hamilton (23-0) scored the next 11 points and outscored CGD 20-3 over a span of 5:23 in the second period to lead 34-15. And just like that, the Hawks could start thinking about a third consecutive trip to the substate round and a rematch with seventh-ranked and fellow unbeaten East Marshall (22-0) on Saturday in Nevada.

South Hamilton’s Logan Peters (14) gets around CGD’s Will Weidemann (35) and scores from the paint on Tuesday in Webster City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Six different Hawks scored during the 17-point outburst. South Hamilton went on a 25-11 run in the second period.

“We were just out-running them and then our defense picked up in the second quarter,” Peters said after having himself a night — 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists. “We’ve got a lot of players that can make a lot of shots and I think that wears out a lot of teams because we’re so well-conditioned.”

The defense was spot on all night. South Hamilton forced 18 turnovers, including five by Cowboys’ point guard Sam Urness, and Berg limited CGD leading scorer Rhett Darland to just a single bucket midway through the first quarter. Darland was coming off a 31-point outburst in a district semifinal win over Eagle Grove and scored in double figures in 22 of 24 games this season.

Darland’s two-point performance was his lowest offensive output since Pocahontas Area held him scoreless on Jan. 3, 2017, a span of 42 games.

“I’m most proud of Cole Berg because to hold Rhett Darland to two points, I’m not sure how many times that’s happened,” South Hamilton head coach Nathan Hill said. “He got that assignment, but it was our whole defense.”

South Hamilton’s Marco Balderas (2) is raked across the arms by CGD’s Bryce Tegtmeyer (11) and Sam Urness during Tuesday’s game. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Urness scored 13 points while being dogged by Conner Hill, but that was five points below his season average.

“I knew (Urness) would get his buckets because he’s super quick, but I also knew I could speed him up,” Conner Hill said. “We could tell we got in their heads because of their communication. We could tell they were frustrated.”

Peters scored 12 points in the first half and all seven Hawks that saw the court put points on the scoreboard over the initial 16 minutes. Logan Klemp scored six of his eight points during that stretch and Conner Hill pumped in seven of his 13.

Marco Balderas was able to take a backseat offensively, but he still managed to score 10 points and dish out five assists. He now sits just 18 points shy of becoming the seventh South Hamilton player to score 1,000 career points.

Berg added eight points and reserves Quinton Grove (nine points) and Cade Balvanz (eight points) combined to score 17 more.

Conner Hill (25) slashes past CGD’s Will Weidemann (35) for two of his 13 points in South Hamilton’s 76-50 Class 2A District 14 final rout in Webster City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“This is what we’ve been about all year,” Nathan Hill said of the balanced offense that essentially forces opponents to pick their poison. “These guys just understand each other so well and they don’t really care about who gets the credit. It’s all about the end goal.”

Leading 39-21 at the intermission, South Hamilton never allowed CGD to get closer than 14 points in the second half.

Peters buried a pair of second-half 3-pointers, as the Hawks extended the cushion to as big as 27 before Nathan Hill was able to clear his bench in the waning minutes.

Riley State chipped in nine points for CGD (13-11) and teammate Alex Machuca scored seven more.

Saturday will make the second straight year that South Hamilton and East Marshall have met in the substate at Nevada. The Hawks pulled out a nail-biter, 53-51, a season ago and both teams return four starters.

South Hamilton forward Logan Klemp (20) knocks down a jumper over CGD’s Bryce Tegtmeyer (11) during the first half on Tuesday in Webster City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“It’s going to be fun,” Conner Hill said. “The atmosphere last year was incredible and they’re going to be ready for us so we’re going to have to play our best.”

South Hamilton 76, CGD 50

Class 2A District 14 Final

Tuesday at Webster City

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (13-11) — Sam Urness 4 4-4 13, Bryce Tegtmeyer 1 0-0 2, Alex Machuca 3 1-1 7, Rhett Darland 1 0-0 2, Zach Martin 4 0-4 9, Brier Boyd 0 0-0 0, Riley State 3 2-2 9, Alec Martin 0 0-0 0, Ben Rudolph 0 0-0 0, Will Weidemann 3 0-0 6, Christian Gaytan 0 0-0 0, Blake Jackson 0 0-0 0, Mateo Martinez 0 0-0 0, Jaace Weidemann 0 0-0 0, Max Powers 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 7-11 50.

South Hamilton (23-0) — Marco Balderas 3 4-4 10, Aaron Hegland 0 0-0 0, Carter Hewitt 0 0-0 0, Cole Berg 3 1-1 8, Sam Lewis 0 2-2 2, Doran Lutjen 0 0-0 0, Logan Peters 8 0-0 18, Quinton Grove 3 2-2 9, Logan Klemp 3 2-2 8, Zeke Balderas 0 0-0 0, Conner Hill 4 5-5 13, Cade Balvanz 2 4-4 8, Garrett Grady 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 20-20 76.

CGD 10 11 18 11 — 50

S. Hamilton 14 25 17 20 — 76

3-point field goals — CGD 3 (Urness, Martin, State); SH 4 (Peters 2, Berg, Grove). Rebounds — SH 32 (Peters 9, Grove 5, Balvanz 5). Steals — SH 12 (Peters 3). Assists — SH 11 (M. Balderas 5, Peters 3). Turnovers — CGD 18, SH 11.Team fouls — CGD 14, SH 10. Fouled out — none.

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