SPORTSBEAT BY PETER JAKEY: Wilbert backs bold halftime prediction

With his team trailing by 10 points at halftime, Huron senior Justin Wilbert made a bold statement as Rogers City regrouped at halftime against the Posen Vikings. Rogers City was blanked during a five-minute stretch before the end of the second quarter. They scored the first four points of the second quarter but no more. They were lucky Posen could muster a paltry four points from the charity stripe. The mid game break couldn?t have come at a better time for the Hurons. As fans grabbed halftime refreshments, the Hurons refreshed their game plan.

Too many one shot opportunities, especially from three-point land, were missing the mark. Coach Karl Grambau knew it would take a team effort to come back, but in order to get back in the game they needed to stop shooting threes and start pounding the ball inside. That was the plan for the second half, but executing it came with an extra ingredient: Rogers City seniors had drive.

DURING HALFTIME, Wilbert made the statement that Rogers City was going to win. Wilbert and his fellow seniors had never won in Posen and they believed that Tuesday was going to be the night. Wilbert backed the prediction with some key plays of the second half. After the Vikes upped their 10 point lead to 12 on a basket by Matt Szczerowski, Posen looked like they were in good shape, but guard Bret Karsten got things going with the prettiest pass play of the night, dishing the ball off to ? guess who? A trailing Wilbert, who put in the lay up.

That got Rogers City off the carpet, even though Posen still had its shot to put this game away. Coach Karl Grambau said an offensive spark, of any kind, can inspire the defense to play better. It definitely got the inside game going for Rogers City.

SCOTT KOWALEWSKY and Justin Senff combined for nine points in the third quarter, five from free throws. They were fouled trying to make things happen down low, while Posen front court started to accumulate fouls. A late third quarter scoring drought by Posen ended just before the end of the quarter on a basket by Matt Styma. That made the score 29-22. At this point, the game still could have gone either way. The way the two teams were scoring, a small scoring spurt could have made the difference in thwarting a comeback by the visitors. Unfortunately, the offense disappeared for the next five minutes of the games while Rogers City went on a 10-0 run. Wilbert got involved again. He scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a lay up, which was matched by Karsten during the Huron?s next trip down the floor. Both teams then spent the next couple of minutes running up and down the floor without putting any points in. That ended when Wilbert grabbed a long rebound and outran the Posen defense to the other side of the floor to score the go-ahead points.

KARSTEN MADE a pair of free throws on a technical foul that took the pressure off Rogers City?s shoulders and placed it on the Vikings?. Rogers City never trailed again. Posen took a few more shots. Jordan Hincka came up with a tremendous steal and lay up. He also was fouled on the play, which got the fans into the game. They hadn?t had anything to cheer about since the first half, but now were back in it. It was a new game at 32-all, but the Hurons made

the plays down the stretch. In this first round of these basketball rivals, the Hurons proved they could handle the pressure. They trailed most of the contest, but with some halftime adjustments, Rogers City was able to come up with the win.

Posen coach Steve Hentkowski?s boys, who scored 50 on the road at Au Gres Friday, was looking to get his offense back on track in practice this week. Talking with the media after the game, Hentkowski said his players didn?t take enough shots. He also said his team needs to play better in the third quarter. They have given up leads several times this season after halftime.

Rogers City has been described as being a streaky team this team. Friday against St. Ignace, they came from behind to take a lead, but let it slip away from them. Posen has had its ups and downs. They?ll look to get back on the upside Friday on the home floor against Hillman.

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