Hawks boys basketball coach Andy Fenske said his team came out flat against Cloquet in a Section 7AAA semifinal Thursday night at beautiful Hermantown Gym.
"We were able to get the looks we wanted, but we weren't able to knock any of them down," said Fenske. "Thankfully, we were able to control the offensive rebounds early on to keep us close in the game."
Defending 7AAA champion Hermantown prevailed 80-58 against the pesky Lumberjacks.
Junior forward Abe Soumis scored a game-high 27 points and senior guard Blake Schmitz added 18 to power the Hawks past Cloquet.
Kollin Bonneville had 16 points and super-sophomore guard Jack Battaglia added 14 for Cloquet.
"Cloquet came out and executed their game plan and it took us time to get things going in our favor," said Fenske. "We took a 17-point halftime lead and extended it a bit further until Cloquet came charging back. I was proud of how the boys handled the adversity. While most number one seeds get to face an eighth-seeded opponent early on to get the jitters out of the way, we didn't have that luxury."
Hermantown will face Denfeld in the 7AAA championship game Thursday at 6 p.m. at Duluth East Gym.
The Hawks defeated the Hunters twice during the regular season, 78-70 at Denfeld and 94-55 at home. Both teams prefer to play up-tempo.
Senior power forwards Andrew Schmitz and Broc Sundland could be difference-makers for Hermantown against the Hunters.
The Hawks have won six straight and nine of their last 11.
Denfeld is powered by 6-2 junior guard Aidan Altona and lightning-quick, 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard Marnaries Ferguson, who combined for 37 points to lead Denfeld past North Branch 63-59 in a semifinal Friday night in North Branch.
"Heading into Thursday night, we need to play a lot better than what we showed last week," said Fenske. "Denfeld is riding a huge win streak (seven straight) and got the hot hand. In my seven years here, I've learned that records and rankings never matter when Hermantown and Denfeld square off. It's going to be a slugfest for 36 minutes.
"Phil (Homere, Denfeld's coach) has his team playing great basketball right now and we can't expect to just show up and come away with a win."