Hanson boys fall to Centerville

The Centerville Tornadoes stormed to a 20-point first quarter lead and went on to defeat the Hanson Beavers 74-61 at the 31st annual Hanson Boys Corn Palace Classic Saturday in Mitchell.

The first quarter was tough for the Beavers as Centerville scored the first seven points to open the contest and held a 28-8 lead with 2:12 left in the first.

Hanson’s Jordan Marquardt closed out the period with eight unanswered points, and the Beavers trailed 28-16 going into the second quarter.

“Defensively, we were not focused at all,” said Hanson coach Josh Oltmanns of his team’s first quarter play. “Offensively in that quarter, we also had bad shot selection, which got us in trouble.”

The Tornadoes opened the second period with a three-point shot from Rory O’Malley and a31-16 advantage.

When trailing 40-28, Hanson closed out the half with a 9-2 run, and senior Trey Persson’s 3-pointer pulled the Beavers to within five at 42-37 at intermission.

Hanson stayed close thanks to 21 first-half points from Marquardt.

“We let them make too many three-point baskets and we didn’t get out to their shooters,” he said. “I was just trying to do what I had to and get the ball in my hands and help my teammates.”

Centerville took control of the contest in the third quarter, building its lead to 60-44. But Marquardt got the Corn Palace crowd cheering as he hit a three-quarter length shot as the buzzer sounded to bring Hanson within 60-47 going into the final stanza.

“Jordan is a relentless kid,” Oltmanns said.” He’s going to keep shooting it whether he’s making it or missing it. He’s capable of going off like that.”

The Beavers opened the final quarter with a 5-0 run to trail by eight, but that’s as close as the Beavers came.

The Tornadoes expanded the lead to 68-54 and were never threatened again.

After winning their first eight games, the Beavers have now lost three in a row, and for Oltmanns, the answer to turn it around is simple.

“We have to get better defensively,” he said. “We just can’t seem to guard anybody right now.”

Marquardt finished with 32 points followed by Matt Huber with 14 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Hanson (8-3) was 23-of-49 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Beavers outrebounded the Tornadoes 31-26 and had 17 turnovers.

Centerville (8-2) was led by Logan Hunter with 25 points, Seamus O’Malley had 23 points and Luke Abbas added 11 points.

The Tornadoes, who had nine turnovers, were 30-of-57 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line.

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