Stopped in regional title game; Posen’s great run ends with loss to Harbor Light
For fans of the Posen boys? basketball team, the sting of last Friday?s 51-44 loss to Harbor Light Christian in the regional championship game continues to ease somewhat, replaced with proud feelings and fond memories of a great season. For the players and coaches, it may take a little bit longer for the pain to go away. The Vikings (20-4) can look back at a special four months. They defeated arch-rival Mio, in Mio, for the first time in 11 years.
After dropping their first game against Mio, Posen went on a 16-game winning streak. In the streak, they defeated Rogers City and Cedarville. The victory against Cedarville avenged a lopsided opening-night loss.
POSEN WAS primed for the playoffs, socking it to North Star League schools Hillman and Atlanta to win districts. In the regional semifinal at Newberry, the Vikes built a 20-point lead against Rapid River late in the first half and had to stave off elimination with solid play late in the game. The Vikings advanced to the regional championship game against Harbor Christian Light.
Entering the game against the Swordsmen, Posen had won 19 of 20 games and had a chance to tie the record for most wins in a season (21) set by the 1999-2000 regional finalists. They also were looking to advance to a quarterfinal game for the first time in three-and-a-half decades.
In the end, it just wasn?t meant to be. Trailing 22-17 at halftime, the Vikings went on a 12-0 lead to start the third quarter. Posen led 33-29 entering the final eight minutes of play. In the fourth, senior guard Ron Kroll hit a jumper in the paint to give the Vikings a 42-35 lead with 4:17 remaining in the game. Harbor Light called timeout and came out of the huddle on fire, making their shots and stepping up the pressure defense.
?WE COULDN?T get anything to go in for us,? said coach Ron Misiak, who watched as his team couldn?t counter a 16-2 run to end the contest. ?We were in full court man-to-man pressure and we pushed the ball everytime we got it,? said Harbor Light coach Jeff Jakeway. ?We are a come-from-behind-team.? Harbor Light erased a 17-point deficit against Brimley in the regional semifinal to advance. Mischa McCray scored seven of his game-high 27 points to tie the game at 42. The only points in the last 3:43 of the game for Posen came from a running jumper from junior forward Matt Ponik.
It wouldn?t have won the game, but a three point attempt, on a perfectly executed play to get senior Ron Kroll open in the corner, rimmed out with the Vikings down by two with only 1:30 left to play. ?On that last play we ran Ronnie into the corner — how many times would he miss that?? said Misiak. ?I guess it was just one of those days. I guess it was not supposed to be.? The rebound from the miss went to the Swordsmen, who went to the other end of the floor and made two free throws.
PONIK ENDED a three minute scoring drought with a field goal to cut the Harbor Light lead to two, 46-44, but the Vikings wouldn?t score again. ?I?m so proud,? said Misiak. ?To lose in the regional finals, nobody expected us to be here.? The coach said the Swordsmen were solid on defense, outrebounding the red and white in the first half. Posen turned that around in the second half but Harbor Light made the shots.
The game plan was to go to junior center Aaron Hincka who made eight field goals and was three-for-five from the free throw line, enroute to a team-high 19 points. Hincka had four fouls throughout the fourth quarter, which opened up the middle for McCray, who forced the ball down the lane. Hincka fouled out with 1:36 remaining.
?THAT?S PROBABLY two rebounds and four points the way we had our plan set up to go down to him,? Misiak said of his center?s absence. Ponik made four field goals and one three pointer and finished with 14 points. Harbor Light played in Tuesday?s quarterfinal game against Crystal Falls Forest Park and was denied a trip to the Breslin Center
Justin Gustafson scored 30 for Rapid River while Kyle Vandrese scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half for the Rockets (11-12).