South Hamilton guard Doran Lutjen attacks the basket and creates contact against Greene County on Tuesday. Photo by Angela Hewitt

JEWELL — Go ahead and position this in the column under the header that reads: Things no one saw coming.

A 71-27 winner over Greene County 46 days earlier, the Heart of Iowa Conference leading South Hamilton boys’ basketball team was left grasping for answers in the return meeting Tuesday night. The Rams walked onto Coach Jim Marsh Court and simply outplayed the Hawks for a stunning 56-54 win.

That’s a 46-point turnaround. And, sometimes, that’s sports.

“All the credit in the world to Greene County,” South Hamilton head coach Matt Juber said. “They came over here and flat out took it to us. I got out-coached (and) we got outplayed.”

It was the first conference win for Greene County (3-8 1-6 HOIC). South Hamilton (7-3, 6-1 HOIC), meanwhile, lost its grip on the outright league lead; it now shares the top spot with Gilbert.

The Rams overcame a seven-point first-half deficit by outscoring South Hamilton 14-7 in the third quarter. Their 1-1-3 defense caused headaches for the Hawks throughout the contest.

“We had almost as many turnovers as points (in the third quarter),” Juber said. “We were just flat.

“Sometimes that’s the way it goes. They made the plays and I think they wanted to win just a little bit more than we did.”

Greene County outscored the Hawks 24-12 from behind the 3-point arc and was led by double-digit scorers Carter Morton (14 points), Caden Lowmiller (12 points) and Bryce Stadler (11 points).

South Hamilton received a double-double from center Cade Balvanz — 19 points and 11 rebounds. Quinton Grove pitched in 10 points and seven caroms, and Carter Hewitt stepped off the bench to produce nine points.

The Hawks will attempt to rebound this evening when they host St. Edmond in non-conference play. They’ll return to the HOIC on Friday with a trip south to take on Prairie City-Monroe.

Greene County 56, S. Hamilton 54

Tuesday at Jewell

Greene County (3-8, 1-6 HOIC) — Jaxon Warnke 1 0-1 2, Nick Breon 0 1-2 1, Carter Morton 4 5-11 14, Bryce Stadler 4 2-3 11, Jackson Morton 0 0-0 0, Zach Goff 0 0-0 0, Logan Kinsey 2 2-2 7, Caden Lowmiller 4 1-2 12, Jaden Block 2 1-2 7, Skylar Ripperger 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 12-23 56.

South Hamilton (7-3, 6-1 HOIC) — Brock Galetich 1 1-2 4, Aaron Hegland 2 0-0 5, Carter Hewitt 4 1-1 9, Sam McNally 0 0-0 0, Doran Lutjen 2 1-4 5, Quinton Grove 4 0-0 10, Freddie Lewis 0 0-0 0, Kyler Hodnefield 1 0-2 2, Cade Balvanz 6 7-9 19. Totals: 20 10-18 54.

Gr. Cty. 13 12 14 17 — 56

S. Ham. 14 18 7 15 — 54

3-point field goals — GC 8 (Lowmiller 3, Block 2, C. Morton, Stadler, Kinsey); SH 4 (Grove 2, Galetich, Hegland). Rebounds — SH 36 (Balvanz 11, Grove 7, Lutjen 6). Steals — SH 6 (Lutjen 2, Lewis 2). Assists — SH 12 (Lutjen 4, Hodnefield 4). Turnovers — SH 15. Team fouls — GC 18, SH 20. Fouled out — GC: Block.