The regular season is starting to wind down for the Hampton-Dumont-CAL boys basketball team, which has four games remaining on its schedule. Two of those contests will be on the road at Algona and Clear Lake, while the Bulldogs will close the home portion of the season against Clarion-Goldfield-Dows and Aplington-Parkersburg.
Senior Brady Harr continues to anchor the Bulldogs, leading the team in scoring, rebounds and assists. Harr’s interior presence has drawn consistent defensive attention throughout the season, but recent games have shown how difficult Hampton-Dumont-CAL can be to guard when perimeter shots begin to fall.
Scoring balance was on display in the Bulldogs’ win over Iowa Falls-Alden on Tuesday night, when Trey Horton and Hunter Rieken combined to knock down eight 3-pointers. In the previous game against St. Edmond, the two connected on six more from beyond the arc, forcing defenses to stretch and opening space inside.
Hunter Rieken says Iowa Falls-Alden’s defensive focus on the paint helped create his perimeter opportunities.
“They were in a 2-3 and they were really protecting the rim because we have two big men who are really good with Brady and Kaden,” says Rieken. “So when I was open, I was just shooting and they were all going in.”
Head Coach Matt Lokenvitz on this team’s balance against the Cadets.
“You start stretching the floor a little bit,” says Lokenvitz. “You start hitting some shots a little bit and doing those things. Then it opens up Brady down low. I mean, they were just mirroring Brady down low with two and three guys. And all of sudden Hunter hits a couple threes. Then Trey is able to get some driving lanes. Then they try to back off on him. Then he hits some threes. Then Hunter hits another three. I mean, then it’s just, now what are you going to do? You can’t guard at all. And that’s what makes a team dangerous is if you can get a couple shooters around a big man that can dominate down low and you’ll get a lot of performances like this.”
That balance will be key as the Bulldogs close out the regular season and prepare for postseason play.
