It was almost 11 months ago that he was taken off the floor on a stretcher after suffering a seizure in a basketball game against Gilbert.

On Friday, the senior easily could have been carried off on the shoulders of his teammates after he drained a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left on the clock.

With South Hamilton locked in a 59-all tie with Nevada, Hegland took a pass from Doran Lutjen, turned and fired from behind the arc on the wing.

Ballgame.

Aaron Hegland (3) throws a pass into the post over the outstretched arms of Nevada’s Cooper Bovee (33) on Friday. Hegland’s late 3-pointer gave South Hamilton a 62-59 win. Photo by Angela Hewitt

Hegland’s 3 gave the Hawks a 62-59 victory and kept them unbeaten in the Heart of Iowa Conference.

“With our last possession to go ahead, we tried to get something going towards the basket or in the middle, but Nevada did a good job of taking that away,” South Hamilton head coach Matt Juber said. “Doran made the easy pass to Aaron wide open on the wing and he drilled it.

“It was a grinder, but a good win for the guys. Lots of guys stepped up and either had big nights or made huge plays.”

The big night performances belonged to Cade Balvanz and Lutjen, who scored 19 and 18 points, respectively. Quinton Grove fits into that category as well; the senior notched seven points and yanked down a career-high 14 rebounds from his guard position.

Hegland made the play of the game and notched six points. Freddie Lewis added five, while Kyler Hodnefield had four.

Lewis (seven) and Carter Hewitt (six) combined for 13 more caroms. Lutjen collected four steals and Hegland distributed three assists.

Tyler Sansgaard led Nevada (2-3, 1-2 HOIC) and all scorers with 20 points. Henry Nelson chipped in 15 more for the Cubs.

Nevada took a 27-23 lead into the intermission and held the advantage, 40-39, after three quarters.

South Hamilton (3-1, 3-0 HOIC) finally found its offensive rhythm in the final period and poured in 23 points.

“We didn’t have our best game on both ends of the floor, but credit Nevada because they came out and were the aggressors,” Juber said. “In the fourth quarter we got some big baskets and strung together some stops to find a way to win. And at the end of the day, that’s what good teams do.”

South Hamilton 62, Nevada 59

Friday at Jewell

Nevada (2-3, 1-2 HOIC) — Colin Memmer 0 0-1 0, Chase Lycke 0 1-2 1, Ty Dittmer 3 1-2 8, Tyler Sansgaard 6 7-9 20, Spencer Grant 1 1-2 3, Ayden Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Henry Nelson 7 1-4 15, Cooper Bovee 3 0-0 8, Blake Bottorf 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22 11-20 59.

South Hamilton (3-1, 3-0 HOIC) — Brock Galetich 0 1-2 1, Aaron Hegland 2 0-0 6, Carter Hewitt 1 0-0 2, Doran Lutjen 6 5-7 18, Quinton Grove 3 0-1 7, Freddie Lewis 2 0-0 5, Kyler Hodnefield 1 1-2 4, Cade Balvanz 9 1-1 19. Totals: 24 8-13 62.

Nevada 11 16 13 19 — 59

S. Ham. 10 13 16 23 — 62

3-point field goals — NEV 4 (Bovee 2, Dittmer, Sansgaard); SH 6 (Hegland 2, Lutjen, Grove, Lewis, Hodnefield). Rebounds — SH 38 (Grove 14, Lewis 7, Hewitt 6). Steals — SH 11 (Lutjen 4). Assists — SH 9 (Hegland 3). Turnovers — SH 10. Team fouls — NEV 14, SH 19. Fouled out — SH: Hodnefield.