Consistent Wolverines pocket win over HMS boys


Spoirts Photos by Vanessa Rohwer.

In the ongoing battle between O’Brien County rivals, South O’Brien drew first blood this season with a 68-40 victory over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn December 17 at Paullina. The win allowed the Wolverines to even their War Eagle Conference record at 1-1 and improve to 3-2 overall.
Kiley Yates was asked what aspects of his team’s performance pleased him. The South O’Brien head coach responded with three items, saying, “We held them around 10 points per quarter defensively. We had three players in double-figure scoring. We played hard for 32 minutes.”
The Wolverine trio of double-digit scorers were Derek Paulsen with 24 points, Jaden Kreber with 17 and Gabe Moermond with 13. Caden Wittrock and Brett Evans each scored four. Adding two points apiece were Reese Lundquist, Brody Van Beek and Austin Negus. Moermond contributed five assists with Kreber, Lundquist and Brady Riedemann each assisting on two baskets.
South O’Brien made good on half of its 58 shot attempts. The Wolverines were 4-of-14 from beyond the arc and 6-of-9 at the free throw line. The visitors shot 43 percent with 16 baskets in 37 tries. They launched 22 three-point shots and made seven while going 1-for-6 at the foul line.
The Wolverines committed just four turnovers. HMS turned the ball over 13 times with Paulsen making three steals and Van Beek two. Kreber claimed eight of South O’Brien’s 28 rebounds. Lundquist pulled down five boards.
HMS
10 11 10 9 – 40
S. O’Brien
15 21 15 17 – 68
