Cedarville pulls away in the fourth quarter to end Posen?s 20-game regular season winning streak
If there was a list of the least popular places for a Class D school in northern Michigan to open the boys basketball season, Cedarville would have to be near the very top. It?s never a picnic up there. Just ask the 2004-05 Posen Vikings, who needed one final win at Cedarville to put the finishing touches on a perfect 20-0 season. Winning that game wasn?t easy, and neither was opening a new boys season Tuesday in the same gym. The season-opener for both clubs was close through three quarters, but Cedarville pulled away in the final eight minutes to end Posen?s regular-season unbeaten streak at 20 games, 62-46.
IT WAS a good start for the Vikings who had a 14-10 lead after the first quarter. Posen was beating the full court pressure, and first year coach Steve Hentkowski said the Trojans had to change their defensive strategy because the Vikes started wearing them down. The teams were nearly even in the second quarter, but Cedarville knocked a couple points off the lead. Posen?s advantage was only one at the break, 29-28. After three quarters, and with the score tied at 41, it all came down to who would win the game in the final eight minutes. The Trojans won the battle of the fourth quarter, 21-5. Some Viking players were in foul trouble late in the contest, including senior big man Matt Szczerowski. He fouled out with about three minutes to go.
CEDARVILLE HAD many more opportunities from the free throw line in the contest. The advantage was 24 to 7. That is another reason why it is so difficult to win in the UP. Hentkowski said it didn?t help that his boys missed several fast break layup opportunities in the first and second half. He also said the Trojans had a slight edge in the rebound department. Sophomore Jordan Hincka was the only Viking in double figures with 18 points. The rematch with Cedarville won?t come until the second-to-last regular season game, February 24.
The players will look to rebound and start a new streak with back-to-back home games against conference opponents Au Gres tomorrow and Mio Tuesday. The JV starts the action both evenings at 6 p.m. Posen is 36-2 in the regular season dating back to December 2003 when the Vikes started 1-2. The junior varsity lost their first game, 65-56.