Already-legendary Hermantown boys basketball coach Andy Fenske has his team peaking late in the regular season, which is a good sign as the Hawks seek a second straight Section 7AAA championship.
The Hawks (14-4) have won two straight, including an impressive 80-79 home win over nonconference Bemidji on Saturday afternoon. Hermantown has played a ridiculously challenging schedule, arguably the toughest among northeastern Minnesota teams, again this season.
"We're starting to hit our stride with eight games to go in our regular season," said Fenske, the Howie Sports' 2022-23 Boys Basketball Preseason Coach of the Year. "We're starting to play a more complete basketball game, finding ways to attack at more strategic points in the game."
The Hawks (14-4) face host Proctor (4-14) in a Lake Superior Conference game Tuesday and visit nonconference Orono Thursday. Hermantown is 7-0 in the LSC, three points ahead of Cloquet and Denfeld, both 4-4 in league play.
"Of the games that we have left, there aren't many easy ones that we'll not be able to show up for," said Fenske. "This week we throw our conference record on the line as we head to Proctor. After that, we face one of the toughest challenges of the season by going down to Orono and then bouncing back with Benilde-St. Margaret's this week. Both of those are top five teams in the state and it'll be a great test to see how we stack up against teams like that with a few weeks to go until playoffs.
"After that, we wrap up our section play on the road at Grand Rapids and Hibbing. Rapids is a team that is hitting its stride so we need to come out firing for that game and jump on them early. In our final three games, we have Superior at home for the conference finale before we travel to St. Francis and host East on Senior Night."
Hermantown will earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Section 7AAA tournament. North Branch (11-9), Cloquet (9-8), Grand Rapids (3-12), Hibbing (1-13) and Denfeld (8-12) make up the rest of the 7AAA field.
The third-seeded Hawks upset No. 1 Hibbing 60-59 in the 7AAA final last season.
"The top seed would earn the first-round bye and get us a home game for the semis," said Fenske.
The Hawks are getting outstanding play from senior guard Blake Schmitz and junior power forward Abe Soumis. Peyton Menzel has stepped into the starting rotation with Keaton Christianson out with an injury.
"Peyton has provided a spark on both ends of the court," said Fenske. "Nathan Hill is gaining some solid minutes as well and is able to make some incredible plays. He sealed the victory for us against Bemidji with an incredible steal as time ran out for them. We're optimistic that Keaton can get back by playoffs and help provide that extra spark and intelligence that he brings to the court."