Mio hands Hurons loss in double OT district opener
A season of ups and downs came to an end for the Huron basketball team after a 66-54 double-overtime district loss to Mio Monday in Alcona. The two teams, playing for the first time in at least 35 years, looked evenly matched in all areas of the game. ?It doesn?t get much better than that for the fans in double-overtime,? said Rogers City coach Karl Grambau. ?We fell behind, then came back. It was anybody?s game.?
Mio?s inside game, led by 6?1? senior center Carlton Davis gave Huron big men Kyle Greene and Adam LaLonde all they could handle inside while sharp shooting Thunderbolt guard John Larrison, who led all scorers with 19 points, kept Huron guards honest with outside bombs. The game went into overtime after a seesaw fourth quarter which saw five lead changes. The Hurons gained the upper hand after Greene stole the ball along the baseline, outletted a pass to LaLonde down the sideline, who then flipped the ball to a cutting Tim Cercone for a lay-up. Rogers City led 43-42 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Then Mio?s Eric Grace drilled a three with 59 seconds showing, giving the Bolts a one-point lead. That lasted until the 27-second mark when senior guard Cody Hurst went to work. Patiently working the ball around for 20 seconds, no shot developed until Hurst drove from the left side of the basket and was fouled. He hit both free throws, which were the last points of regulation, as the game stood deadlocked at 45-all.
IN THE FIRST OT, Hurst?s two free throws gave the Hurons a 47-45 lead, but on the other end of the court, Greene picked up his fifth foul as a Thunderbolt charged into him. So with 3:37 left in the first OT, the Hurons were without their 6?5? leading scorer. But the team didn?t wither. Sophomore Clay Hilla, up from the JV, made a slick tip-in off a rebound to snare the lead at 53-52 with 47 seconds left in the first OT. That lasted until Larrison hit one-of-two free throws with 13 seconds left. The Hurons snatched the rebound, Hurst raced down court, and Grambau called timeout to set up a play with four seconds showing on the clock. Rogers City?s inbound play had worked for a basket nearly every time in this game, but this time it didn?t click. LaLonde?s shot fell short, sending the game into a second OT.
Here the Hurons? bubble burst, as the Bolts scored the OT?s first eight points before Isaac Momrik hit a free throw. Mio then scored the next five points to win 66-54. ?I think overall we played a pretty decent game. Both teams probably evened out on turnovers, but that is youth. Both teams are young,? Grambau said.
THE GAME STARTED very slowly for the Hurons as they turned the ball over on each of their first six possessions, and eight of their first 11 possessions. In spite of the turnover problems, Rogers City led 8-6 with 2:52 left in the first quarter, after Charley Smolinski set up Cercone for a baseline shot. The Hurons led 12-10 after the first quarter and 21-20 at halftime.
Mio took a 37-34 lead into the fourth quarter. LaLonde led the Hurons with 13 points and Hurst and Greene each scored 12, while Cercone had six. Others making the scorebook were
THE GAME ENDS the basketball careers of seniors Trace Kieliszewski, Hurst, and Branden Kania, leaving many returnees eager to improve on this year?s record. Last Friday at Inland Lakes, the Hurons lost the final regular season game to the Bulldogs 59-46. Greene paced the scoring with 17 points while Cercone added 11.
The junior varsity, under the guidance of second-year coach Jason Wenzel, finished the season with a 12-8 record after defeating Inland Lakes 59-52 last week. Clay Hilla scored 28, Chris Paschke had 12, and Justin Senff added 11.
?Rogers City was well represented by these kids,? Wenzel said. ?They really improved over the course of the year.?