Hermantown’s young and injury-ridden boys basketball team played one of its best games of the young season in the Southside Showcase at Benilde-St. Margaret’s last Saturday, despite falling to Columbia Heights 75-67.
“We had (senior guard) Alex Schott step up big for us at the Southside Showcase,” said Hawks coach Andy Fenske. “His effort and determination on both ends of the floor single-handedly kept us in the game. That helped lead us on a nice run to the end of the first half.”
Despite suffering another injury, Hermantown had guys step up and match Schott's energy out there, Fenske said, “and we took the lead for a while.”
“James Kleist was our other player who helped us lead the charge,” said Fenske. “Playing just shy of 30 minutes, Kleist provided us with some key stops and much-needed rebounding to help us take that lead.”
Hermantown (0-4) will visit traditional rival Duluth Denfeld (2-3) on Thursday before hosting Chisago Lakes (0-5) Saturday.
The Hunters are led by senior shooting guard MarNaries Ferguson, who averages over 21 points per game, and electric 6-5 sophomore center Carter Brown. Junior point guard Lee Brooks, the starting quarterback on Denfeld’s football team, is another major contributor.
Chisago Lakes is struggling, big-time. The Wildcats suffered a 107-40 loss at Monticello last Friday night. However, they did play Cloquet tough in their season-opening game in the Wood City, before losing 95-88. Joe Couwenhoven, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, is averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game.
“We hope to get a few guys back this week for the Denfeld and Chisago games,” said Fenske. “Being a young team is tough enough, but being young and injured adds more challenges. What I love is seeing our players continue to step up and give us everything that they've got.”
2024-25 Hermantown Boys Basketball Schedule / Results
Proctor – L 78-66, Overall: 0-1. Lake Superior Conference: 0-1. Home: 0-0. Road: 0-1.
Princeton – L 95-87. Overall: 0-2. LSC: 0-1. Home: 0-1. Road: 0-1.
Hibbing – L 86-56. Overall: 0-3. LSC 0-2. Home: 0-2. Road: 0-1.
Columbia Heights – L 75-67. Overall 0-4. LSC 0-2. Home: 0-2. Road: 0-2.
Thursday – at Duluth Denfeld
Saturday – Chisago Lakes
Dec. 27-28 – at Delano Tournament
Jan. 2 – Milaca
Jan. 7 – at Duluth East
Jan. 9 – at Cloquet
Jan. 14 – Bemidji
Jan. 21 – Duluth Denfeld
Jan. 23 – at Duluth Marshall
Jan. 28 – at Bemidji
Jan. 30 – Grand Rapids
Jan. 31 – Cloquet
Feb. 4 – at Mounds View
Feb. 6 – at Grand Rapids
Feb. 11 – at St. Francis
Feb. 14 – St. Paul Harding
Feb. 20 – Superior
Feb. 21 – Rock Ridge
Feb. 25 – at Mound Westonka
Feb. 27 – at North Branch
Feb. 28 – Duluth East
Mar. 5, 7, 13 – Section Tournament
Home games listed in boldface.