Comeback leads to opening-night win
Rogers City got its basketball season off on a winning note with a 60-57 comeback win over the Boyne City Ramblers Tuesday. That sets up a game Friday with the hot-shooting Rudyard Bulldogs, 18-2 during the regular season last year. In the opening game for both teams Tuesday, each struggled a bit in the early going, making several turnovers. The Hurons jumped out to an 8-6 lead, powered by three field goals by senior center Kyle Greene. Where the Hurons used a strong inside game, the long-range shooting of the Ramblers would keep them in the game all night. Guard Dillon Olmstead nailed two of his six three-pointers at the end of the first quarter as the visitors led 16-11 after eight minutes.
?IN THE FIRST game of the year there are going to be a lot of turnovers. Boyne City really shot the ball well tonight. They made a lot of clutch shots,? said Huron coach Karl Grambau after the game. A clinging Rambler press and a tentative Huron offense led to a 23-13 lead for Boyne City midway through the second quarter. When Greene ran over a Rambler on the way to the basket for a charging foul, Grambau called timeout. After that the Hurons went on a 12-4 run to close the half, cutting the margin to 27-25. The Hurons made good cuts to the basket, and moved the ball well, scoring the last 10 points of the half. Adam LaLonde and Tim Cercone hit layups to end the half with momentum swinging the Hurons? way.
CERCONE BEGAN the second half with another layup to tie the score. Then, with 5:59 left in the third quarter, Greene hit his second straight basket, the first being a dunk, to give the Hurons their first lead since the opening quarter. The teams battled back and forth, with each team hitting the offensive boards. The score was knotted at 31, 33, 35, and 37 before the Hurons put two baskets together. The first was a Greene follow off his own missed shot, and the second came on a hard-working offensive put-back by LaLonde at the 1:15 mark. Greene nailed a banker, after beating the Rambler press, then junior guard Isaac Momrik?s three-pointer from the left side gave the Hurons a 46-42 lead heading into the final period. THE HURONS suffered a blow when LaLonde went down with an ankle injury at the 5:14 mark, then Momrik fouled out with 2:51 left in the game. Grambau, who played only six players up to that point, had to rely on Aaron Smuda and Chris Paschke off the bench with the game on the line and the pair played well. With Olmstead connecting on four more threes in the fourth quarter, the Ramblers scrambled back to tie the score at 55-55 with 2:51 left in the game.
Boyne regained the lead at 57-56 with 1:51 left when Olmstead snatched an offensive rebound and hit a short shot. He finished with 24 points to lead the Ramblers. Then Greene drove the lane and put down a one-handed slam-dunk, giving the Hurons the lead for good at 58-57. Greene would add another on a finger roll with 30 seconds left to nearly ice the game. Boyne would have two shots at off-balance three-point attempts as the clock expired, but Rogers City walked away a winner on this opening night.
?ONCE WE GOT the floor spaced out a little bit, and got some passes into the post, we were a lot better,? Grambau said. Greene paced the attac
THE JUNIOR VARSITY, under the direction of coach Jason Wenzel, notched its first win of the season, coming from behind. The JV trailed 17-15 after the first quarter, but tied the score at 25-all at the half. Boyne pulled out to a 40-38 lead after three, forcing a Huron comeback in the fourth. Sparked by Chris Santini?s nine points in the period, the Hurons outscored the Ramblers 16-11 in the final stanza to earn a 54-51 win.
Justin Senff scored 15 points while Santini added 11, and Justin Wilbert scored 8. The Hurons play in Rudyard Friday and travel to Alcona Tuesday, in a game to be broadcast on WVXA, 96.7-FM.