Cedarville?s pressure and second half fire power too much for Posen in season opener

Game number one of the boys? basketball season was a matchup of two northern Michigan Class D heavyweights. Both Cedarville and Posen have size, experience and players who can score — and both are anticipating successful 2003-04 campaigns. Both teams could easily be staring down each other at regionals in Newberry in March. Round one at Cedarville goes to the home team, which erased an eight point halftime deficit to win, 73-57.

?THEY ARE A very good team, there?s no two ways about that, and it?s one of the few teams that we will face that will be bigger than us,? said coach Ron Misiak. Posen (0-1) which begins North Star League play Friday in its home debut against Au Gres, led 33-25 at the half by playing tough defense in the first half. Misiak said his players were in a man-to-man defense. ?We were really solid,? said Misiak. The Vikings blanked last year?s leading scorer, Jason Sweeney, in the first quarter, but at the beginning of the third quarter, Posen couldn?t contain Justin Fountain who scored 13 points in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Cedarville picked up its defense, turning up the full court pressure and forcing the Viking players to turn the ball over. ?We made a few turnovers and they were hot and we weren?t,? the coach said. ?We?ve got to come out fired up in the second half and play. We ha

ve to play solid defense. Overall, I thought we played a pretty decent game.?

TWO PLAYERS had double-doubles, as juniors Matt Ponik and Aaron Hincka both were in double figures in rebounds and scoring. Hincka led Posen in both categories with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Ponik finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Ron Kroll had eight points. The players will have to wait until February, in the second-to-last regular-season game, to return the favor against Cedarville. The home game is February 27. In the meantime, Posen has back-to-back home games against Au Gres Friday and then Mio on Tuesday.

The JV, which lost its first game against Cedarville, begins the action at 6 p.m. Friday.

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