It’s a bird… It’s a plane… No, it’s Superman!

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Sports

January 14, 2015 - 12:00 AM

YATES CENTER — Kal Hamm turned into Kal-El in overtime of Yates Center’s 58-53 win over Cherryvale Tuesday night.
“That’s what we preach. (Hamm’s) a big, athletic guy,” coach Tanner Davis said. “So, we just try to get him the ball and let him go and that opens up a lot of other lanes for us offensively.”
Hamm’s overtime performance was super. Hamm scored the Wildcats’ first nine points of the extra period — that included a 7-0 run to start overtime. Other than a couple of free throws, his scoring output gave the Wildcats a 55-48 lead with 1:05 left to go in the game.
Cherryvale turned it around with a 5-1 run to bring the score to 56-52 in favor of Yates Center with 20 seconds left. With 12 second left, Cherryvale forced a jumpball and were awarded the ball.
Yates Center’s Jordan Smith swiped a pass and was fouled with 2.2 seconds remaining in the overtime period. He hit both free throws to give the Wildcats a two possession lead and cement the game as a win.
“It was great. We came off of a sluggish game last Friday,” Davis said. “Tonight, we played aggressive and finished the game and that’s what we wanted. It was a good night.”
From tip-off the game was back and forth, with neither team taking an outright lead. The Wildcats secured a 9-4 lead about halfway through the first quarter. Brett Holloway scored four of the points during that run. But, Cherryvale steamed back with a 6-0 run for a 10-9 lead. With five seconds left in the first, Cherryvale made the go-ahead basket at 14-12.
In the second quarter, the teams continued to trade baskets. After Cherryvale opened up the quarter with a score, Yates Center’s Hayden Splechter scored on a jumper in the lane. Cherryvale answered on the next possession. Justin Rossillon followed that up with a Yates Center basket, still trailing 16-18 with 4:45 left.
With 1:25 remaining in the half, Drake Busteed stole the ball, faked a shot and passed it off to Smith for a layup to tie the game at 22-22. But, Cherryvale finished the half on a four-point run to take the lead.
The third quarter resulted in the Wildcats having to play catch-up in the fourth quarter. The Chargers outscored Yates Center 14-12, to extend their lead to six points at 40-34.
Mikey Bruner started the Wildcats’ comeback with a 3-pointer to pull the score to 40-37 in favor of Cherryvale with 6:40 left. Hamm started his hot hand with back-to-back jumpers in the lane — Cherryvale did score in-between the possessions. The Chargers led 44-41 halfway through the quarter.
 After Cherryvale scored in transition, Rossillon hit a clutch 3-pointer with 2:10 left to keep the game within reach at 46-44. A minute later, Hamm tied the game on a jumper.
As time expired, Cherryvale’s Dakota Trout heaved up a halfcourt shot that hit the back of the rim. The miss forced the overtime period.
Yates Center hosts Waverly on Jan. 23.

Yates Center 58, Cherryvale 53
Yates Center (12-10-12-12-12—58) (3PT/FG-FT-F-TP): Bruner 1/1-1-3-6, Splechter 2-3-1-7, Holloway 3-0-2-6, Smith 2-2-1-6, Busteed 1-1-1-3, Hamm 8-4-3-20, Rossillon 2-/2-0-5-10
Cherryvale (14-12-14-6-7—53) (3PT/FG-FT-F-TP): Menzer 0-1-2-1, John 1-0-4-1, Hester 1-0-0-2, Raida 6-2-4-14, Humaciu 0-0-2-0, Trout 9-2-4-20, Vigil 6-2-2-14

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