Hermantown boys basketball's last four games have been a whirlwind of an experience -- which included a dramatic 88-81 come-from-behind nonconference victory at Bemidji on Tuesday night -- Hawks coach Andy Fenske said Wednesday.
"It started with us pulling out a huge win over Duluth East (93-75) at home, because beating a AAAA school is always a perk for our rankings," said Fenske, the runaway favorite for 2024 HowieHanson.com Coach of the Year. "Then we went to Cloquet (a 106-79 Hawks victory) for a section/conference match-up and in that game, we were able to dictate tempo the entire game. We were able to do so without a starter which is always a tougher challenge no matter who you play. It throws off the rotations and roles of the guys for the night, but the boys step up when called upon.
"We followed it up with game three of the week by playing Hibbing (a 90-73 Hermantown win) on LSC Day, which is always a tough situation. Neither team was at home, the whole day seemed to throw teams off, but our boys rallied around each other and made a deep run late to push a close game up to the 20-point mark to seal the victory."
Hermantown improved to 11-5 with the win at Bemidji, when senior forward Abe Soumis exploded for 55 points to set a new school single game scoring mark.
"They're a team that no matter what their record is, they have you scouted every time and they're going to get after you," said Fenske of the Lumberjacks.
Moving forward, the Hawks next visit Duluth Denfeld on Tuesday.
"Denfeld is a huge game for us in terms of looking at seeding purposes," said Fenske. "I think our boys are in a good head space, and we have time to get some guys rested and healed as we gear up for the home stretch of games before playoffs begin."
Hawks Nest --Soumis (1,434 career points) is closing in on the school's all-time scoring mark of 1,697 held by Kole Zuidmulder.