Hammersland and company put up 80 points in win over Blue Devils

By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register

It was another raucous week for the Central boys basketball team, which started action with a Jan. 14 match-up versus undefeated North Fayette Valley.

The TigerHawks struck first, but Mason Loan responded with a deep two-pointer to get the Warriors on the board. With the crowd chanting “D-Up,” Central had an early 9-2 lead, with shots from Jake Hertrampf and Owen Hammersland leading the way. The lead caused NFV to call a timeout, and after that, the TigerHawks started hitting shots, while the Warrior offense fell silent and turnovers led to multiple fast break points. The first quarter closed with Central down 18-11. 

“Our guys came out and played well on both ends to start the game. We were able to move the ball and find open shooters, while getting defensive stops,” said coach Brady Stramer. 

Hammersland hit two of his team-high 12 points to start the scoring in the second period, and added two more off free throws, but the Warriors were still down 22-15 three minutes into the quarter. Rebounding troubles for Central led to several baskets by the TigerHawks, who out-scored the Warriors 17-8 in the quarter. While Vaughn Zittergruen added two of his nine points after the halfway point, Central headed to the locker room trailing 35-19. 

Both defenses took over in the third quarter, with the Warriors trying to force the TigerHawk offense to the perimeter and limit scoring opportunities in the post. NFV continued to play man-to-man defense, causing the Warriors to struggle to maintain spacing and miss opportunities. One opportunity that wasn’t missed was an early three by Hammersland, but the quarter was a bit sloppy with turnovers—with the Warriors committing 24 in the game—and fouls. Both teams combined for 24. Isaac Loan hit a three- pointer toward the end of the quarter, but the TigerHawks led 43-25. 

The Warriors tried to shoot their way back into the game in the fourth period, including a layup by Zittergruen, who scored nine points, and a jump shot by Hertrampf, who finished with four points, but the Warriors fell 59-36. 

Central hit 36.8 percent, but a combination of turnovers and allowing second-chance opportunities ultimately lost the game. Zittergruen had a team-high eight rebounds and Hertrampf netted six, while Isaac Loan led in assists with four. 

“Offensively, it was our lowest total output of the season. I felt that we were reluctant to attack the basket, only shooting eight free throws on the night. Defensively, I felt that we did quite a few good things. We were able to hold NFV to nine points fewer than their single game average, and limited their two posts to 20 combined points, after they combined for over 50 in their previous two games,” Stramer added. 

The Warriors took on the Springville Orioles on Jan. 16, and the Hammersland brothers, Griffen and Owen, led the offensive barrage with a combined 26 points on 10 for 17 shooting. 

The first quarter followed the same script as the TigerHawks game, with the Warriors jumping out to an early 5-2 lead, but a long offensive drought allowed the Orioles to pull ahead 16-5. A later 14-2 run left the Warriors trailing 20-10 after the first period. 

“After giving up 20 first quarter points, we felt we needed to make a defensive adjustment. We came out in the second quarter in a zone defense, which was a nice change of pace for us,” Stramer said.

The change of pace limited the Orioles to just nine points in the quarter, while the Warriors cut into the lead and only trailed by seven at halftime, 29-22. 

Springville made some adjustments coming out of the locker room and shot the ball well, extending their lead to 15 midway through the third quarter. The Warriors kept shooting, and offensively matched the 20-point output of the Orioles, heading into the fourth quarter down 49-42. 

Unfortunately, shooting the ball wasn’t the same as making shots, which the Orioles did better in the fourth quarter, putting up 19 to Central’s nine, leading to a 68-51 defeat.

“We struggled to start each half well, digging ourselves a hole at the beginning of each. To our guys’ credit, they remained steadfast and battled to keep things close for three quarters. In the end, we struggled to locate their shooters too often,” Stramer said. 

Joining the Hammersland brothers in the box score was Hertrampf, who had nine points with four rebounds. Isaac Loan scored eight points with a team-high 10 assists. He and G. Hammersland also had three steals. 

On Jan. 17, the Warriors were a runaway train on offense, lighting up the scoreboard with incredible performances from O. Hammersland, who led the Warriors with a career-high 29 points, while shooting seven of eight from the three-point line. Hertrampf, who scored 14 of the team’s 27 first quarter points and ended with a season-high 18 points, also helped led the Warriors to an 80-39 victory. 

Nine Warriors got in on the scoring bonanza, including Mason and Isaac Loan, who both scored eight points. Zittergruen finished with four and Garrett Burns came off the bench with five. 

“Our guys once again came out and jumped out to an early lead, but this time we were able to sustain it and not go on a long drought. In fact, our first quarter offense was our highest scoring quarter of the season,” Stramer said. 

The Warriors shot almost 50 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent on three-point shots, while minimizing turnovers. This led to the Warriors having their highest scoring half, with 49 points, and highest total score of the season with 80.

“We had great ball movement and shot selection all night long, which is a big reason why our shooting percentages were so high. We rebounded well on both ends, and more importantly, we took care of the basketball,” Stramer said. 

Up next for the Warriors are two more conference games, starting at home versus Turkey Valley on Jan. 21. A road game against Postville will follow on Jan. 24.