HAMLIN – Fourth-rated Hamlin used its size and strength inside to help fuel a 72-40 Northeast Conference boys’ basketball win over Aberdeen Roncalli Tuesday night.
Jackson Wadsworth, who is bound for Northern State, muscled his way to a game-high 29 points as the Chargers improved to 13-2 on the season.
“I thought our guys battled well, played physical, played hard,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “It’s just when they’ve got a guy like Jackson Wadsworth that can go off for 29, he’s a tough guard really for everyone in the state.”
Roncalli used strong outside shooting in the opening quarter to hold its own. While the Cavaliers trailed nearly the entire contest, they were within 36-23 early in the fourth quarter before the Chargers pulled away with a 24-point final quarter.
Roncalli attempted to go inside, but the found it challenging against the taller Chargers. As a result, the Cavaliers had to rely on their perimeter game.
“For as physical as they are, as big as they are, everything was going to be tough to come by,” Gallagher said, “so we had to tell our guys you just have to be ready to shoot. If you’ve got your shot, you’ve got to take it.”
Trig Heinrich added 12 points to the Hamlin ledger, and Boden Stevenson finished with 11.
Roncalli received 11 points each from Jesse Hernandez, Austin Fisher, and Creighton Fisher.
The Cavaliers, 5-9 on the season, have a busy week, playing at Miller on Friday night, and taking on Sully Buttes at Warner on Saturday evening.
“Miller is obviously a solid team with Isaak Hunter in there,” Gallagher said. “They’ve playing well, and then you’ve got Sully Buttes with another player with (Wesley) Wittler.”
Despite the setback to Hamlin, Gallagher said it was beneficial to face a top team.
“It’s a great measuring stick to see where we’re at it, and I’m proud of the way our guys fought,” Gallagher said, “just a lot of things we still want to clean up to be in the position we want to be come March.”
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (5-9): Jesse Hernandez 4 0-0 11, Austin Fisher 4 1-1 11, Creighton Fisher 4 2-2 11, Bryson Olson 0 1-2 1, Mason Berndt 1 0-0 2, Brock Bowman 1 0-1 2, Ryan Schmidt 0 2-2 2. Totals 14 6-8 40.
HAMLIN (13-2): Jackson Wadsworth 9 8-9 29, Boden Stevenson 4 2-4 11, Trig Heinrich 6 0-0 12, Aiden Abraham 2 3-4 7, Jack Stormo 3 1-2 7, Jaden Olsen 1 0-0 3, Owen Taschner 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 14-19 72.
Aberdeen Roncalli 3 19 31 40
Hamlin 22 36 48 72
3-point field goals – Hernandez 3, A. Fisher 2, C. Fisher; Wadsworth 3, Stevenson, Olsen, Taschner. Fouled out – Olson. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 21; Hamlin 9.
