Defensive push in the final minute ensures Posen win
The Tuesday hex was broken this week in Posen as the boys? basketball team handed Atlanta its first loss of the season. The final score was 62-55. The contest wasn?t decided until the final two minutes when the Vikings stepped up the defensive intensity and put the game into the win column, but it appears the Huskies will be the team that has to be defeated if the Vikes want to earn a district championship this season. Posen (3-2, 2-1) charged back from a six point deficit late in the third quarter to take a six point advantage in the fourth.
Senior Russ Kamyszek?s fadeaway jumper, on a perfect pass from senior Tom Woloszyk, made the score 52-46, but there was still more than half of the final quarter to play. Atlanta (5-1, 3-1) came back with five straight points to trim the Vikings? lead to one, 52-51, with 3:30 left on the clock.
SENIOR RON KROLL answered the call. After Kroll made the second of two shots from the free throw line to increase the lead to two, he picked the pocket of a guard at midcourt, and with his speed, pulled away and went in for an uncontested layup. That was the ball game. With 2:06 left in the fourth, and a 55-51 advantage, that was a dagger the Huskies couldn?t recover from. ?Our defense picked up the last two or three minutes and that helped us get the steals to win,? said junior forward Matt Ponik, who had a game high 20 points. Atlanta was called for a charge on its next possession. Gentle giant, junior center Aaron Hincka, went strong to the hole to boost the lead to six. Junior James Sobek put the exclamation point on the win with a layup for the final points of the game. ?It?s a lovely victory, there are no other waay to put it,? said coach Ron Misiak. ?After that Mio downfall, we were really working hard.
?I DIDN?T KNOW how long the guys were going to last because we have been sick with the flu for two weeks.? Atlanta coach Ryan Marlatt said a game the night before, a rare Monday night contest against Johannesburg-Lewiston, may have taken its toll. ?Physically, I think our kids started wearing down,? Marlatt said. ?Posen put some pressure on us. We had some turnovers which really cost us the game.? The Vikings controlled the boards, though, which gave Misiak confidence his players were going to put the game away. ?At halftime, we stressed that the guards really put pressure on their guards so they wouldn?t get good looks,? said Misiak. ?Ronnie really stepped up and got a couple of nice strips and really harassed the guys with the ball.? The Viking fans were getting restless when the Huskies went up, 41-37 with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter. Misiak called a timeout but James Dobbyn put Atlanta up by six, 43-37.
SOPHOMORE RICHIE KROLL made sure the Vikes closed out the third quarter with the lead. He came down with a rebound off an Atlanta miss, and took on the role of point guard, dribbling the ball up court by weaving through swarming defenders. Richie dished off to Ponik for the bucket. Matt was fouled and made good on the three point play for a 45-43 lead. The Huskies g
Atlanta?s Eric Ball had a team-high 17 points, while Alan Cunningham had 15. Hincka finished the game with 13 points and was followed by Ron Kroll and Kamyszek with 10 each. Sobek had seven. The junior varsity kept pace with the varsity with a 50-24 win over the Atlanta JV. Both Viking squads have the same records (3-2, 2-1).
Matt Szczerowski had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Brandon Hentkowski contributed 13 points. In the last game of 2003, the Viking JV tripped up Hillman by 30, 67-37. Szczerowski had 20 points, 15 rebounds, and eight blocks. Matt Styma had 14 points and eight boards.