HAWKS HALFWAY TO STATE: The South Hamilton boys’ basketball team took another step towards a fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament and earned a little payback in the process last night in Parkersburg.

The Hawks (14-7) limited South Hardin to 10 first-half points and rolled to a 54-39 rout over the Tigers in a Class 2A District 14 semifinal.

South Hardin (15-7) beat South Hamilton during the regular season, 62-60. But last night the Tigers had no answer for the Hawks relentless defense.

“I’m very proud of the effort my guys brought throughout,” South Hamilton head coach Matt Juber said. “I challenged them leading up to this to let the first game against South Hardin be a lesson and I would say they showed me it was a lesson learned.”

South Hamilton shot 52 percent from the field and limited South Hardin to just 32 percent success. The Hawks stormed out to a 20-9 lead after one quarter and then outscored the Tigers 8-1 in the second to own a 28-10 halftime edge.

Game over.

Cade Balvanz was dominant inside and scored a game-high 17 points. Doran Lutjen added 13 points and Quinton Grove was his usual versatile self with seven points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Austin Busch chipped in eight points, and Carter Hewitt came off the bench to provide seven more.

South Hamilton will now face Hudson in the district final Tuesday night in Iowa Falls. Hudson upset No. 7 Aplington-Parkersburg, 41-39, last night.

S. Hamilton 54, S. Hardin 39

Class 2A District 14 Semifinal

Thursday at Parkersburg

South Hamilton (14-7) — Brock Galetich 0 0-0 0, Carter Hewitt 3 1-3 7, Tycin Barkema 0 0-0 0, Doran Lutjen 6 0-2 13, Ty Skartvedt 0 0-0 0, Austin Busch 3 2-2 8, Quinton Grove 2 3-5 7, Kyler Hodnefield 0 0-0 0, Nic Flaugh 0 0-2 0, Cade Balvanz 8 1-2 17, Cade Flaugh 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 7-16 54.

South Hardin (15-7) — Mason Sheldahl 2 2-4 6, Kael Carr 2 0-0 6, Waylen Butler 0 1-2 1, Dante Dolash 1 2-2 4, John Walters 0 0-0 0, Garrison Tripp 2 3-5 8, Gavin Ridout 0 0-0 0, Jesse Roe 0 0-0 0, Beau Butler 5 1-4 11. Totals: 13 9-17 39.

S. Ham. 20 8 8 18 — 54

S. Hard. 9 1 9 20 — 39

3-point field goals — SHam 1 (Lutjen); SHar (4 (Carr 2, Tripp). Rebounds — SHam 32 (Gove 10). Steals — SHam (4 (Grove 2). Assists — SHam 14 (Grove 5, Lutjen 4). Turnovers — SHam 10. Team fouls — SHam 17, SHar 19. Fouled out — none.

LYNX GET BY BOONE: A stingy second quarter and plenty of free throws propelled the Webster City boys’ basketball team to a 61-51 victory over Boone last night in Boone.

The Lynx (11-9) ended a three-game slide and head into Monday’s Class 3A substate quarterfinal against Ballard with some momentum.

Trailing 18-15 after the opening quarter, WCHS outscored the Toreadors 14-5 in the second period to take command for good. The Lynx sealed the game at the charity stripe, where they outscored Boone by 12 points, 23-11.

Tyler Olson paced WCHS with 15 points and Carter Neuroth finished with 14, nine of them coming at the line. Tavis Eklund and Drake Doering combined to knock down three 3-pointers and scored nine and seven points, respectively.

Evan Behn kept Boone (1-19) in the game with five triples and he poured in a game-high 18 points.

Webster City 61, Boone 51

Thursday at Boone

Webster City (11-9) — Ty McKinney 2 1-2 5, Drake Doering 2 1-2 7, Tavis Eklund 2 4-4 9, Tyler Olson 4 5-6 15, Carter Neuroth 2 9-15 14, Lincoln LaSourd 0 0-0 0, Jamin Stuhr 2 0-0 4, Will Tasler 2 3-4 7. Totals: 16 23-33 61.

Boone (1-19) — Tegan Bock 1 2-4 4, Ben Craven 0 0-0 0, Gavin Miller 0 2-2 2, Evan Behn 6 1-2 18, Nathaniel Winter 2 0-0 6, Marcus McPartland 1 2-2 5, Tate Sandvig 4 3-5 11, Ryan Hulse 2 1-2 5, Garrison Freese 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 11-17 51.

Web. City 15 14 16 16 — 61

Boone 18 5 13 15 — 51

3-point field goals — WC 6 (Doering 2, Olson 2, Eklund, Neuroth); Boone 8 (Behn 5, Winter 2, McPartland). Team fouls — WC 18, Boone 22. Fouled out — none.