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Hersey picks up the pace

If Hersey's bounce-back performance against Rolling Meadows Friday is an indication of the team's direction, then the Huskies are ahead of schedule.

"Usually, we fall flat at Pekin and then get it together the rest of the season," Hersey coach Steve Messer said after his team's 75-64 Mid-Suburban East boys basketball victory in Ken Carter Gym. "We fell flat against Fremd and got it together tonight, so maybe we're ahead of the curve."

There's no doubt that this was the Huskies best offensive performance of the season, topping their previous high of 70 against Robeson and prepping the team for the Pekin tournament after Christmas.

"Offensively, yes, but defensively, no," said senior Payton Haas, who led three Huskies in double figures with 22 points, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc. "We have to do a better job on defense."

On the defensive end, there was no stopping the Mustangs' sophomore Jared Murphy who led all scorers with 28 points, including 3-of-4 3-point attempts.

"He can score at will, and he's a smart player," Messer said.

Hersey took advantage of 7 second-quarter turnovers by Meadows and stretched its 18-14 first quarter lead to 39-29 at halftime. That was just a single point less than it scored in its crossover loss at Fremd on Tuesday.

The Huskies (5-4, 2-1) stretched their lead to 50-34 when Joe Coffaro (20 points) made 1 of his 4 3-pointers, Kevin Starr hit from close range, and Max Heeren (10 assists) split a pair of free throws with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs made a spirited run, outscoring Hersey 13-2 to close out the quarter, cutting the margin to 52-47. Murphy scored 10 of the 13 points in that spurt.

But the Mustangs (4-5, 1-2) never got closer than 3 points in the fourth quarter, and Hersey performed at the foul line, making 11-of-13 to ice the game.

"Give Hersey at lot of credit," Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said. "We had a lot of breakdowns, a lot of mental mistakes, and you can't do that against a team like Hersey.

"They capitalized on our mistakes," Katovich said. "I was happy with our offensive execution, but you won't win many games when you give up that many points."

In addition to making 8-of-20 3-point attempts, Hersey's crisp passing led to many easy baskets. In addition to Heeren's double-figure assists, 6-5 center Josh Mailloux (8 points) added 5 assists of his own.

"We trust each other on the court," Haas said. "We know everyone can score."

"They're a very unselfish team," Katovich said. "Their maturity and experience serve them well."

"That (the unselfishness) was something we saw early, over the summer," Messer said. "They willingly give up the ball."

Zack Cooper scored 15 points for Hersey, 10 in the first half. John Lothery and Matt Wojcik each scored 11 for Meadows.

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