Guards Doran Lutjen and Quinton Grove, along with center Cade Balvanz, combined for 54 points and 22 rebounds to propel the Hawks to a tougher-than-expected 66-60 non-conference victory over West Marshall on Coach Jim Marsh Court.

Lutjen led the way with 19 points, six rebound and six assists. Balvanz did the dirty work inside with 18 points, five boards and two steals. Grove was again everywhere and compiled 17 points, 11 rebounds and two steals.

“Those three seniors stepped up and played pretty well,” South Hamilton head coach Matt Juber said. “Doran was finally on the attack … he was driving with a purpose to get to the rim. Cade worked his tail off inside … and Quinton just continues to be that glue guy that just figures out how to get whatever needs to be done, done.”

South Hamilton (7-2) needed them to be the Big Three because plenty didn’t go the Hawks way. They committed 25 fouls, shot just 46 percent from the floor and an even worse 39 percent at the foul line, and were never able to put away a Trojans’ team that has now dropped four straight contests.

South Hamilton’s Freddie Lewis attacks the basket against West Marshall on Monday in Jewell. He had three points in a 66-60 win that moved the Hawks to 7-2 on the season. Photo by Angela Hewitt

“At the end of the night, a win is a win,” Juber said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we stayed after it and made enough plays to win. Our effort was fine all night, but our mental focus and mental toughness (were) lacking during stretches.”

West Marshall (2-6), a former Heart of Iowa Conference member which will rejoin the league next year, received 18 points from Gabe Jones and 12 more from Brayden Evertsen. The Trojans also shot better from the field than the stripe (57 percent to 50 percent).

The adversaries were whistled for a combined 47 fouls and shot 53 free throws.

South Hamilton led 18-15 after one quarter, 35-31 at the intermission and 52-45 after three quarters.

Aaron Hegland pitched in six points, while Carter Hewitt and Freddie Lewis both had three for South Hamilton, which will return to conference play on Friday with a game against Roland-Story in Story City.

S. Hamilton 66, W. Marshall 60

Monday at Jewell

West Marshall (2-6) — Joey Tollefson 0 1-3 1, Caleb Keigan 3 0-2 8, Qwinton Wilder 0 6-6 6, Brian Morrison 1 0-2 2, Kinnick Christensen 3 0-0 6, Brayden Evertsen 5 2-4 12, Gabe Jones 6 5-9 18, Manny Lazard 3 1-4 7. Totals: 21 15-30 50.

South Hamilton (7-2) — Brock Galetich 0 0-2 0, Aaron Hegland 2 1-2 6, Carter Hewitt 1 1-2 3, Tycin Barkema 0 0-0 0, Sam McNally 0 0-0 0, Doran Lutjen 8 2-5 19, Quinton Grove 6 4-8 17, Freddie Lewis 1 1-2 3, Kyler Hodnefield 0 0-0 0, Cade Balvanz 9 0-2 18. Totals: 27 9-23 66.

W. Mar. 15 16 14 15 — 60

S. Ham. 18 17 17 14 — 66

3-point field goals — WM 3 (Keigan 2, Jones); SH 3 (Hegland, Lutjen, Grove). Rebounds — SH 34 (Grove 11, Lutjen 6). Steals — SH 10 (Grove 2, Hodnefield 2, Balvanz 2). Assists — SH 12 (Lutjen 6). Turnovers — SH 13. Team fouls — WM 22, SH 25. Fouled out — SH: Balvanz.