Hudson beats Hastings in non-conference game, 64-52

The Hastings boys basketball team hit a bump in the road on Thursday night, falling to Hudson, 64-52, in a non-conference game.

Hastings coach Chad Feikema sensed the bump coming while in the locker room before the game. It didn’t seem to him like his team was ready to go, and the first possession of the game proved his concerns were valid. Hudson was able to get a couple offensive rebounds in that first possession, something that makes all coaches concerned.

“This was the first time all season that the other team played with more effort than we did,” he said. “In our previous games, we had been the team that outhustled and outworked our opponents. This was the first time where that wasn’t the case. I thought we just lacked a little focus and some intensity.”

Hastings fell behind early and couldn’t get the lead down to less than four points. Hastings even tried playing some zone defense toward the end of the first half, and that appeared to help.

“That shifted things a little bit,” Feikema said .”We’ve hung our hat on our man-to-man defense. This was the first game where we’ve even shown a single possession of zone. For a while, that was effective.”

While Hastings cut the lead to four, Hudson then hit a couple big shots and pushed the lead out to nine, and Hastings couldn’t overcome the deficit.

“We were never able to get back in it,” Feikema said. “Offensively, we were very stationary. We didn’t play with a lot of aggressiveness in terms of attacking in the half court and going after rebounds.”

DaShaun Harris had a breakout game for the Raiders, scoring a team-high 20 points.

“He’s just really stepping up his game,” Feikema said. “He’s been amazing. He just attacks the rim offensively. He’s really good on the glass, and he’s been moving well without the ball, too. He’s been able to find some space.”

Darius Wilkerson had a strong game, too, finishing with 16 points. He had six rebounds, too.

“He does a lot of things well,” Feikema said. “He’s consistent on the glass. He’s been one of our top two rebounders in every game we’ve played. He’s typically one of the leaders in assists and steals and blocks, too.”

Hastings’ struggles in the first half were amplified at the free throw line. The Raiders made just three of nine attempts from the line. In the second half, the team fared much better and they finished having made 10 of 18 attempts.

Hudson, meanwhile, hit 11 of 13 attempts from the line.

Hastings is playing in its own tournament this week. Games were at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday and the tournament continues Thursday with games at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tags: raider basketball, sports, hastings, minnesota, spiral, prep