The offense shone brightly for South O’Brien as it opened tournament play February 14 at Paullina. The Wolverines equaled their highest point total of the season in defeating Harris-Lake Park 69-44 in the Class 1A District 2 quarterfinal.
“We started the game strong offensively and continued that throughout the game,” said South O’Brien head coach Kiley Yates. “I thought we were effective running our offensive sets and we shot the ball very well. Jake Wallin and Sawyer Honkomp shot a high percentage and we were able to get a few points from a number of players. We offensive rebounded well and had limited turnovers.”
Honkomp was 4-of-4 from the field, including a couple of three-pointers. He also sank all four of his free throws to finish with 14 points. Wallin’s 22 points were accomplished on 9-of-16 shooting along with making one of two foul shots. He went 3-for-4 from behind the three-point line. David Bottjen contributed eight points, Jacob Van Lith seven, Hudson Oolman and Ben Woodall six apiece, Boston Riedemann four and Willie Conley two. Van Lith was the assists leader with two.
The Wolverines shot 51 percent as a team with 26 baskets in 51 attempts. They were 7-of-12 from long range and 10-of-12 at the free throw line. Harris-Lake Park went 16-for-47 from the floor for 34 percent. That included connecting on two of 11 three-point tries. Like South O’Brien, the Wolves were 10-of-12 at the line.
Wallin was the Wolverines’ top rebounder with 10 and recorded two blocked shots. Van Lith came down with five rebounds and Oolman three. Wallin and Oolman each made a pair of steals as Harris-Lake Park had 13 turnovers. South O’Brien turned the ball over seven times.
HLP
15 7 11 11 – 44
S. O’Brien
18 18 19 14 – 69