Hersey wins a wild one against Prospect
Twists, turns, up, downs and everything else but loose.
That's the way it went at Hersey's Ken Carter Gymnasium on Friday night.
When the overtime buzzer finally sounded, the host Huskies had come away with a 73-71 win over Prospect in both teams' Mid-Subrban East opener.
"This win gives us some noise," said Hersey guard Joe Coffaro.
Trailing 57-47 with 2:57 left in regulatin against the Knights (3-3, 0-1), Hersey's Grant Wagner (16 points) stepped it up.
"It was coming down to the end of the game and I put my foot to the pedal," said Wagner. "Coach (Steve Messer) says in practice that the time is now. You don't want to look back and think what could have happened."
Wagner's acceleration made it happen, as he had 7 of the Huskies' next 9 points to make the score 57-56 with 1:12 left.
David Swedura (8 points) gave the Knights a little breathing room, scoring a bucket for a 59-56 Prospect lead with :59 remaining.
The tide swung to Hersey after Prospect coach John Camardella received his second technical foul and had to leave the game.
Coffaro, who led Hersey with 28 points, sank 2 free throws to pull the Huskies within 59-58 with :58 left.
Daniel Gritt hit the first of 2 free throws to tie game at 59 with :45 ticks left.
Coffaro's 30-foot 3 attempt hit the front of the rim, forcing overtime.
The Huskies went up by 5 at 68-63 with 1:43 left in OT.
Frankie Mack, who led the Knights with 27, points hit a 3. That was followed by a Swedura basket, knotting it back up at 68.
Ken Hasley (10 points, 8 rebounds) put Hersey ahead for good at 70-68 with an inside basket with :42 remaining.
Mack had a chance to tie but missed the second of a two-shot foul. Ed Mleko made 1 free throw for a 71-69 lead with :29 left. Gritt scored with :06 left before Mack hit a 2-pointer at the buzzer.
"Grant's play was so big for us in the fourth quarter" said Coffaro. "He has really committed to the team for us."
Coffaro's fast start was a key. He had 14 points in the first quarter as the Huskies (3-2, 1-0) raced out to a 24-19 lead after one quarter.
"We couldn't keep letting him have those shots," said Camardella. "We put Grant Whitebloom on him and that slowed down his scoring some."
But it opened up other avenues.
"Joe's smart," said Messer. "He really came on as a floor general, getting others involved in the offense, and that's what I expect of him. What can I say about Wagner? He worked his way into the fifth spot by the way he played in last week's Thanksgiving tournament at Glenbrook North.
"These are the type of games you're going to see in the MSL East. Whoever wins these games will be on top at the end of the season."