Huron basketball update: mid-January games
The Huron basketball team won two and lost one leading up to Tuesday?s contest in Posen (see separate story). Last week against St. Ignace, the Hurons came from behind to lead the Saints in the late-going, only to lose 69-65. St. Ignace won the game at the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-26 while the Hurons went to the line only six times, hitting four. With the Saints leading 49-46 heading into the fourth quarter, the Hurons came out gunning. Chris Santini?s three-pointer from the right wing tied the score with 7:24 remaining. ON THE next Huron possession, Austin Fairbanks rebounded a Bret Karsten miss, then fired it back to Karsten, who nailed a three to give the Hurons their first lead since early in the first quarter.
A steal by Justin Wilbert, followed by a pass from Karsten to Fairbanks, gave the Hurons another basket. Then Karsten hit a runner from the left baseline to end the Hurons? 9-0 run over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. The Saints tied the score at 56-56 before Karsten gave the Hurons their last lead of the game at 58-56 with 2:30 left in the game. St. Ignace took advantage of three Huron turnovers to get the lead back at 63-58 with about a minute left in the game. Karsten stole the ball at midcourt and went in for a lay-up. Wilbert stole the inbounds pass and hit a short shot to bring the Hurons within one with 25 seconds left in the game.
BUT THAT would be as close as the Hurons would come, as the Saints scored their next six points on free throws to ice the game. Karsten scored 27 points to lead the Hurons while Wilbert scored 13 and Santini added seven. Justin Senff scored all six of his points in the second quarter and Scott Kowalewsky scored six. The Hurons notched a 63-40 win over Inland Lakes January 18, in a game rescheduled due to an ice storm January 17. Rogers City jumped out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. The Hurons led 34-17 at halftime and 51-30 after three quarters. Santini scored 13 points, Wilbert added 11 and Karsten scored eight in the game as ten players scored in the gam
Kowalewsky added 13, with eight coming in the fourth quarter. THE JV HURONS lost 59-35 to St. Ignace. The Hurons led early, but fell behind 12-11 after the first half and 22-20 at halftime. Scott Grulke scored 9 and Zach Karsten added 8 for the Hurons. Rogers City took a 62-39 win over Inland Lakes. Matt Schmucker scored 14 points to lead the Hurons while Karsten scored 12 and Kevin Fairbanks added 12.
The Huron JV lost a 40-21 battle with Alcona. The Tigers started quickly, getting out to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter and 26-10 at the half. Cody Wirgau scored 10 to pace the Hurons.