Knowles’ triple-double helps Titans grind out overtime victory over Bloodhounds

HAMILTON, Ill. — West Hancock boys basketball coach Jeff Dahl tried his best to wrap his arms around what had just transpired.

“This … was a grinder,” he said.

West Hancock survived an overtime struggle with Fort Madison (Iowa), winning 74-67 Tuesday night to extend its win streak to nine in front of a crowd of about 950 at Red Rogers Memorial Gymnasium inside Hamilton High School.

While West Hancock (23-4) led for the large majority of the second half and overtime, the Titans had to withstand one Bloodhounds charge after another until locking down the victory by scoring six of the game’s final eight points in the closing 37 seconds.

“That’s a team that’s better than its record,” Dahl said of Fort Madison, which dropped to 8-7.

Hunter Froman, a 6-foot-3 sophomore for West Hancock, may have captured the moment best.

“We persevered,” said Froman, who scored a game-high 21 points, which included five 3-pointers. “And I think Fort Madison sputtered a little bit at the end.”

Also appreciating the moment was Cooper Knowles, the Titans’ 6-foot-9 junior center who recorded his first triple-double — at least he’s pretty sure it is — with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocked shots. Fourteen of his points came in the second half.

“I think that’s the first one I’ve ever had,” said Knowles, who also registered three dunks and is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game during the Titans’ current win streak that has pushed their record to 12-1 since January.

Dahl said Knowles’ 12 blocked shots represented a school record.

“Cooper’s triple double was big,” Dahl said. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball (on more of a regular basis).”

Knowles scored a quiet four points in the first half before more passes found their way to him over the third and fourth quarters and overtime. Knowles likes the effort he is seeing from the Titans, who led 44-41 going into the final period.

“We’re getting real close to where we should be,” Knowles said. “I think we showed that last week against Keokuk (a 74-28 West Hancock win). We just need a few more practices to work on some things.”

Froman agreed.

“We’re close,” he said. “It will all come together.”

Lewis Siegfried added 14 points for the Titans and drew praise from Dahl for his leadership.

“I’m really pleased with the maturity of Lewis as a player,” Dahl said. “He’s come a long way (in his career). There was a time if he missed a shot, he’d be hanging his head out there. Not anymore.”

While Dahl was pleased with his club’s effort and the win, he is not quite as optimistic as Knowles and Froman as to where the Titans currently stand. He was quick to point out defensive breakdowns, an overabundance of turnovers and lack of rebounding at critical times as sore spots.

“We’re far from peaking right now,” Dahl said.

Nolan Gooding (10) was West Hancock’s other double-figure scorer. Gooding (8), Froman (8) and Siegfried (7) combined for 23 rebounds in support of Knowles. 

Fort Madison’s Dayton Lamar, a 6-foot-6 senior, finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Nolan Guzman contributed 19 points for the Bloodhounds, who led 31-30 at halftime.