advertisement

Hersey rolls over DuSable in opener

Don't be fooled by Hersey's 64-34 boys basketball season-opening win over DuSable Monday night at Palatine's Ed Molitor Thanksgiving Classic.

The Huskies have a lot of work to do. Just ask them.

"I think we have to work on all aspects of the game," said first-year coach Austin Scott, whose club got great perimeter shooting from Ryan Verhulst (17 points on 4 of 6 3-point shooting) and a dominant defensive and rebounding performance from everyone else, but probably gave up more looks than Scott was comfortable with that DuSable just didn't knock down, especially during a competitive first half.

With Stevenson on the docket Tuesday, then Jacobs and York, Scott and his players know they're going to be challenged.

"We have our work cut out for us the next three games," Scott said.

But they're ready.

"We have so much potential," Verhulst said after the game. "We have a ton of good players."

Like point guard Matt Hanushewsky, whose 7 points belie his contribution on assists, defense, general overall floor game and control of the tempo. He never let the Huskies slip into a sloppy, up-and-down, racehorse game that might have produced a lot of turnovers.

And there's Jacobs Kluczewski, whose 8 points belie his ability to rebound with taller opponents by getting position and just being aggressive. In fact, the Huskies were so balanced, only Verhulst scored in double figures. What's the key to their success?

"Friendship. We're all real close," said Verhulst.

"They're a united group," Scott confirmed, something they displayed by sharing the ball consistently, helping on defense and getting valuable minutes off the bench from the likes of Scott Rogowski, in relief of Hanushewsky, Jace Coffaro and a late highlight-reel performance from Dan Clawson.

Now, on to tougher opposition and Verhulst knows what they have to do.\

"We have to talk a little more on defense," he said. "We have to clean up the little things."

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.