Hermantown boys basketball coach Andy Fenske on his 5-5 club, which went 1-1 in a pair of Delano boys basketball holiday tournament games last week, losing to Delano 85-61 before blitzing Monticello 80-63 – "Thursday we had the chance to go against a top 10-team in AAA. We came out of the gates hot and had the lead early on. Once they got hot we were in a true battle to keep in it. As the game went on, we cut the deficit we found ourselves in down to six but we couldn't quite hold on. They're a top team for a reason with all the weapons that they had.
After that, the boys had a quick turnaround to prep for Monticello who, despite their record, has some great talent on their team. They're led by two bruisers of seniors and a guard who's tough to contain. However, despite our slow start in game two, we had them doubled up in points for the majority of the game, and maintained a 20-plus point lead through most of the second half.
We had a great weekend from (Abe) Soumis (23 points and 9 boards, 3 assists vs. Delano and 31 points, 19 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists vs. Monticello) as well as from Nate Hill (10 points and 7 boards vs. Delano and 29 points, 4 boards against Monticello)) and Peyton Menzel (12, 7 assists, and 2 steals vs. Delano). We saw some great things from guys coming off of the bench, too. All in all it was a great win to wrap up the 2023 calendar year.
This upcoming week we have another section match-up on the road (Friday night at Rock Ridge), which will be a good test to help with some seeding come March time. We follow that up with a game vs. Becker (Saturday 5 p.m. in a Lake Superior Classic game at Duluth East Gym), who's showing the ability to put the ball in the hoop with ease. That's going to be another great test to see how we handle some new looks and new personnel to take on."
HAWKS NOTEBOOK -- Hermantown will face traditional rival Proctor in a Lake Superior Conference high school boys hockey game Tuesday night in Proctor. The Class 1A/ No. 1-ranked Hawks are 6-2-2 overall and coming off a 4-0 loss at Class 2A/No. 9 Shakopee last Friday night. The Rails are 9-4-0 overall. Hermantown's elite players are junior forward River Freeman, sophomore forward-defenseman AJ Francisco and senior goaltender Dane Callaway.
Fargo Force forward Zam Plante of Hermantown has recorded 10 points, including five goals, in his last six games. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Bulldogs recruit has 14 goals and 30 points in 23 games overall. Plante's younger brother, Max Plante, and the U.S. Under-18 team faced the University of North Dakota on Saturday and will play the University of Minnesota at 3 p.m. Monday at Mariucci Arena.