Hermantown boys basketball coach Andy Fenske says his team's 78-70 victory at Denfeld on Dec. 6 was typical of the close, hard-fought games between the traditional Lake Superior Conference rivals in recent years.
"It went about as I expected -- not in terms of the score but rather the style of play for both teams," said Fenske. "We knew going into the game that Coach (Phill) Homere would have his squad playing at a very high level. While they are young and going to go through the growing pains that all young teams do, they're dangerous. They don't know the meaning of the word quit and play hard until the final buzzer."
Blake Schmitz scored 27 points and Abe Soumis 21 for the Hawks (2-0), who defeated Minneapolis Edison in the Benilde-St. Margaret's Southside Showcase Saturday afternoon, 80-75.
The Hawks will play host to Hibbing at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in its home-opener.
"In the first half, we were able to control things how we wanted, getting the looks, finishing at the rim, and causing enough pressure to make them turn the ball over to us," said Fenske. "What we didn't do well is continue to push past that in the second half. We came out and had, not just normal turnovers, but shot turnovers as well. That let them back into it early. While I believe that it got to within three points, our boys were able to rally around each other, get a bucket when needed, and, most importantly, get some team stops during winning time.
"We know what Denfeld is capable of, and while many teams write them off, we know we can't look past them if we want to have the post-season success we're capable of. While we are happy to come away with a victory at Denfeld, we know that come January, we'll have another big test with them."
Fenske said Schmitz and Soumis had outstanding games and put the team on their backs especially late in the game.
"They not only did things that show up in box scores, but they handled the pressure well, took control of the game at various points, and ensured that we'd be in a great spot every moment they were on the floor," Fenske said of his team leaders.
Looking down the road, Fenske said the Hawks are in a spot where they control a lot of their own fate as they prepare to defend their Section 7AAA title.
"Each month we have at least one game versus a top-ranked team in AAA to give a good measure where we stack up against the better teams," he said. "We have Orono coming up in a week (Friday, Dec. 16, at Orono), which I think is our greatest road test of the month. We will also play at North Branch (Dec. 22) and then to Delano (Dec. 29) to take on Big Lake and hopefully Delano in a holiday tournament.
"Come January we add our first games at Duluth East and Bemidji, both of whom bring a lot with the size of their squads, and we get to see Rock Ridge for the first time at home as well as Princeton, another top AAA team. All of those matchups are going to be a major hurdle for us to come out on top. Not to mention we'll see Denfeld at our place and head to Esko for two more local tilts. We also get to catch Sauk Rapids-Rice on a neutral court and Superior at home, both of whom we went into single and double overtime, respectively, against us last season."
Fenske said perhaps the biggest challenge his team will face before playoffs is at Feb. 11 home game against Benilde-St. Margaret's.
"In my eyes, Benilde-St. Margaret's will be a top-three team all season and has a great shot at Totino-Grace to win the entire thing this year," he said. "We ramped up our schedule this year in order to be prepared for a playoff push. The boys have a lot on their plates and are ready to step up to each and every challenge. And when those challenges do occur, we need to find a way over them or make our way through them."
📷 Shawna Jokinen | Freeway North Photography