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No. 3 Hawks not about to overlook Cinderella

New Hampton out to pull off third straight upset, deny SH?third consecutive trip to state tournament

South Hamilton senior Conner Hill (25) heads towards the basket against Garner-Hayfield/Ventura on Tuesday. He leads the Hawks in scoring at 17 points per game entering Saturday’s Class 2A Substate 2 final against New Hampton. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

JEWELL — Nathan Hill knows that people are probably thinking it, even if they won’t say it out loud for fear of upsetting the basketball gods.

On paper, it’s a no-brainer. Third-ranked South Hamilton (20-1) is an overwhelming favorite against postseason Cinderella New Hampton (12-11) in Saturday’s Class 2A Substate 2 final, set for Mason City High School at 7 p.m.

The Hawks have it all — talent, depth and a wealth of experience coming off two consecutive trips to the state tournament.

The Chickasaws were below .500 just a week ago, but back-to-back upsets over Aplington-Parkersburg (55-54) and Crestwood (50-36) have them above water for the first time since way back on Dec. 8 when they were just 3-2.

So South Hamilton cruises, right? Hill says anybody that understands the game knows that simply isn’t the case.

South Hamilton junior Quinton Grove drives into the lane on Garner-Hayfield/Ventura’s James Betz during Tuesday’s Class 2A District 3 final in Webster City. The Hawks will travel to Mason City on Saturday to face New Hampton in a substate final. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“What I’ve told my guys is they’re still playing this time of year for a reason,” Hill said of New Hampton. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence and they’ve picked a good time to get on a roll. We have to make sure that we stay focused and disciplined and not fall into that trap, otherwise we’ll be the ones sitting at home.”

New Hampton has been playing with house money since the postseason began and you only need to look at its 14-point win over Crestwood to understand just how quickly the Chickasaws have turned it around. The two teams met twice in the regular season and Crestwood won both by a combined 45 points, including a 30-point drubbing on Feb. 4.

What changed in just a few weeks?

“They have a couple young guys that are playing well and sometimes it just takes a while for them to click,” Hill surmised. “They’ve played some pretty good competition too and they’ve peaked at the right time.”

South Hamilton will focus its defensive efforts on trying to contain New Hampton senior Tristan Sweitzer, who averages 18.6 points per game. Freshman Drake Wemark throws in 13 a night, but Hill says Sweitzer makes the team go.

“He’s a good player and we’ll have our hands full with him,” Hill said. “He probably has the ball in his hands 80 percent of the time and everything goes through him.”

New Hampton won’t have that luxury of focusing its defensive efforts on just one or two individuals. South Hamilton’s team-first mentality makes everyone an offensive threat, a reason why the Hawks have won 14 consecutive games and have outscored their foes by an average of 19.5 points per game this winter.

Conner Hill (17.0), Logan Peters (14.6), Cade Balvanz (11.8) and Cole Berg (11.7) all average in double figures, and fifth starter Quinton Grove (5.4) won’t hesitate to knock down shots if he’s left open. Reserves Sam Lewis (3.5) and Doran Lutjen (2.1) have both given solid efforts when their numbers have been called as well.

South Hamilton put together one of its finest offensive performances of the season on Tuesday in a 71-54 rout of Garner-Hayfield/Ventura in the district final. It may take a similar effort on Saturday, but even if the points are hard to come by, Hill thinks his group is locked in on doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

“You always measure the toughness of teams when things aren’t going well,” he said. “When you’re not hitting shots, can you be disciplined and do the little things to keep you in the game? The good news is we’ve been through it and we’ve proven we can do that.

“I hope the kids are as focused as they were (Tuesday) night. They know this time of year anything can happen and you have to be dialed in. We know who we are, we just have to be able to execute.”

WHO: No. 3 South Hamilton (20-1) vs. New Hampton (12-11)

WHAT: Class 2A Substate 2 Final

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Mason City High School

FACTS: South Hamilton is attempting to qualify for the state tournament for the third consecutive season and fourth time in the last six years.

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