By John George
Perham may have gotten a look at their playoff future and the future was not bright.
In what could have been a preview to a Section 8AA playoff preview, Hawley ruined senior night by beating the Jackets, 58-45.
They were just on fire, head coach Dave Cresap said of the Nuggets, who hit five first half three-pointers to take a 32-23 lead at the break.
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Perham was never able to get closer than five in the second half as Hawleys longer bodies made it tough to move the ball.
They have those long wing players, Cresap said. They deflected so many of our passes. They must have had 20 tips or steals.
Matt Schornack hit six threes to keep Perham in the game. He finished with a team-high 18 points and five rebounds.
It was the last regular season home game for four seniors: Schornack, Caleb Anderson, Will Ryan and Alonzo Williams.
Hawley kept up their hot play after beating Perham by knocking off Bagley, Section 8AAs top seed in the north, 85-52. They played 8AAs No. 3 team in the south, Breckenridge Tuesday night and lost, 69-61.
The loss knocked the Jackets back into the No. 4 position in the south half of the 8AA brackets. Hawley, with the win, moved into the No. 5 spot. Both teams are more-or-less set in their seeding and will likely meet in the first round in Perham on March 9.
Hawley finishes against Lake Park-Audubon and Wadena-Deer Creek.
Perham will finish their regular season at No. 2-AA Pelican Rapids on March 3. The Vikings beat Perham 56-37 on Jan. 26.
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Hawley will be tough for us to beat without Logan Schultz, Cresap said. Schultz is unlikely to play because of multiple concussions. Logan is our only presence in the middle. Its tough to defend Hawleys long players with our height.
Tuesday at D-G-F
Perham fought to the very end Tuesday night against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, but came up just short, 42-41.
D-G-F led by five at the break, but Perham outscored the Rebels 21-17 in the second half.
Tyler Marthaler led the Jackets with 15 points. The loss drops Perham into fifth place in the HOL at 10-7 with one game to play.
