advertisement

Hersey dumps Wheeling

For the first three quarters of Friday's Mid-Suburban East boys basketball game between Hersey and visiting Wheeling, the outcome was pretty much in doubt.

But when Hersey senior Scott Rogowski drilled a 3-pointer to start the fourth-quarter scoring, it triggered an 11-2 run from which the Wildcats never recovered.

Junior Brent Wolff scored a game-high 17 points and classmate Griffin Ginder added 13 as the Huskies prevailed 53-38 at the Carter Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

"In recent games we haven't given a full fourth-quarter effort," said Rogowski, the Huskies' floor leader. "So we knew we had to come out strong and we knew it came down to our defense. That's what's going to win games for us so we were real aggressive in our 1-3-1."

Wolff helped the Huskies (7-12, 2-3) win the first half (they led 25-22 at the break) by scoring 14 of his points, including four 3-pointers.

"My teammates were getting me the ball and I got confident and kept shooting," said Wolff, a 6-foot-1 guard. "We've been playing very passive in the fourth quarter and we just wanted it more this game. We've been grinding at practice and it showed tonight."

A 3-pointer by Wheeling junior guard Jaden Terrell (team-high 10 points) to start the second half tied the score at 25-25.

But Hersey used an 8-2 run to lead 33-27 after three quarters.

Four different Huskies (Wolff, Ginder, Alec Naumowicz and James Nolan) scored during the run.

"There were multiple players who stepped up," Hersey coach Austin Scott said. "I'm really proud of them and of the guys who got in for their final 32 seconds. This is a really cohesive group."

Ginder's final 5 points were a layup off an assist from Andrew Wagner (7 points) and a 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the game.

"I thought Griffin stepped up to the occasion and made some things happen," Scott said. "And I thought Alec was big for us off the bench. Plus we had individual guys who hit really big shots to make it a collective team effort."

Wheeling (6-11, 1-4) enjoyed it biggest lead at 18-14 when Joe Jordan (7 points) made a steal near half court and then assisted on Javen Reid's layup. Jordan then hit 2 free throws to make it 18-14.

Reid finished with 6 points while Solomon Hudson and 6-1 sophomore Aima Igiehon each chipped in 5 points apiece.

"Solomon does a great job defensively," said Wheeling coach Mike O'Keefe. "His skills set on the offensive end continue to improve.

"Aima's (Igiehon) terrific, a fantastic kid and awesome student. He keeps learning and takes the coaching on the floor which is exciting to see. As you can see he is long an athletic. Once he continues to develop the skill set on the offensive end, he can be really good. The sky is the limit."

Hersey limited Wheeling to 2 field goals in the first quarter.

"Unfortunately we just didn't make the best decisions with the ball," O'Keefe added. "I thought we had a pretty good game plan but when you have 20-plus turnovers, you're losing out on potentially 20-plus points. We lost by 15 so that was the story of the game."

"Hersey went with the 1-3-1 defense a lot of the second half and that definitely disrupted our rhythm and flow. And they did a great job playing with energy and utilizing their length and athleticism in the 1-3-1."

Dan Clawson and Ben Randall also contributed to Hersey's offense while the defense got the job done in the final quarter.

"Ive got to credit my teammates who were jumping in the passing lanes and getting steals," said Rogowski, who had a few key steals himself. "We've had a little bit of a rough stretch but we haven't lost faith or trust. We believe in our coach and the players we have so we have to keep believing and hopefully start something."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.