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One special win for Hersey

It was a great night of hoops Friday at Hersey's Ken Cater Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

The boys varsity game against Wheeling tipped off at 6 p.m., and as the game went on, the Hersey Special Olympics basketball team was getting ready for its contest against Barrington.

There was a wave of excitement in the Special Olympics preparation room as the Hersey players received their special-made jerseys for the event, which was to start immediately after the varsity game.

"The best thing about tonight," said Hersey senior and Special Olympics competitor Kyle Holm, "is all the support we receive from our fans."

"It means a lot to me," added junior Nick Tiahnybok. "I'm very grateful to be a part of this program."

While Holm, Tiahnybok, and the rest of their teammates got ready for their event, the Hersey varsity was taking care of business against the Wildcats on Senior Night.

Joe Coffaro, one of the Huskies' senior class, poured in 16 points as Hersey defeated Wheeling 61-52 in the Mid-Suburban East. The outcome keeps alive Hersey's chances at a share of the MSL East title; the Huskies (7-2 in the East) and Prospect (8-1) will sort that out next Friday.

Coffaro set the school's single-season record for 3-pointers Friday, hitting his 79th triple late in the game to help seal the win.

"Hard work," said Coffaro when asked about the reason for his success this season. "I put in a lot of hard work - I shoot every day - and it pays off in the games."

After the varsity contest ended, the Special Olympics game began, and the Hersey players were introduced Chicago-Bulls style, complete with dimmed lights and pulsating music.

They even had Ray Clay, the former Bulls announcer, announcing the starting lineup to the cheers of a packed house.

"This is a nice event," said Hersey varsity player Eddie Mleko, one of the honorees on senior night. "Hersey is one of the main places for the CLS (Career Life Skills) program, and I know these guys (the Special Olympics team) don't play many games in the season, so they were ready for tonight.

"I know that they were practicing against our girls team yesterday getting ready for the big game, and we were all out here supporting them."

Wheeling came out fast against the home team in the varsity game, earing a double-digit second-quarter lead thanks to their ferocious 1-3-1 defense.

But Hersey overcame the visitors with a third-quarter run, and when Huskies senior Danny Gritt sank a layup, Hersey took its first lead at 34-32.

"It was the same thing as in our last game against Hersey(a Huskies victory)," said Wheeling coach Michael O'Keeffe. "We had a lead at the half, and they went on a run in the third quarter.

"Their pressure defense got to us. They play terrific man-to-man defense, and (Hersey coach Steve Messer) always has them ready to compete."

Hersey led by only 3 after three quarters, but put the game away early in the fourth.

First Coffaro sank a 3-pointer, then the senior stole the ball from Wheeling and fed Ken Hasley (game-high 17 points) for a layup.

Hasley was fouled and missed the free throw, but got his own rebound and after a putback basket, the home team led by 10.

A late 3 from Wheeling's TJ Best (14 points) got the Wildcats within 7, but Coffaro answered moments later with his record-setting 3-pointer to put the game out of reach.

Deshon Jacobs scored 11 points and had 9 boards for Wheeling (10-13, 4-5), while senior Grant Wagner pitched in 12 points for the Huskies.

"This is a nice group of seniors," said Hersey coach Messer. "They're a great group of guys and they persevered . What turned the tide tonight was our second and third effort. Our first effort wasn't working thanks to some great Wheeling defense, but our guys stayed with it and got the second and third effort, rebounding, getting to loose balls and 50/50 balls. That was what led to our win."

"This was all leading up to next week," said Coffaro. "We play Prospect, and we still have a chance at an MSL championship. We had a rough start tonight, but we knew we had to come back and to whatever it takes to get a win."

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