Rolling Meadows holds off Hersey
Rolling Meadows stayed the course Friday night against visiting Hersey.
The Mustangs built a big early lead, watched the Huskies fight back in the second quarter, and ultimately pulled away to score a 66-53 Mid-Suburban League East boys basketball win.
And according to Meadows junior guard Aidan Hosler, the victory was all about teamwork.
"We needed to play as a team and execute the game plan," said Hosler. "We lost it a little bit in the second quarter but we regained our composure."
Meadows used some hot shooting to jump out to a 16-2 advantage in the first quarter, helped along by 5 quick points from junior guard Daniel Sobkowicz.
Hersey slowly but surely cut in to the lead, and when Huskies junior Ben Randall got a steal and finished with a dunk, the visitors trailed just 26-21 midway through the second.
Randall recorded 5 take-aways in the second quarter during the Hersey rally.
"We fought for a little bit tonight," said Huskies coach Austin Scott, "but not nearly as long as we had to. We fought well in the first half, but the difference was that Rolling Meadows was a step faster than us. They got to every loose ball, and they were a little tougher than we were."
Meadows held a 33-26 advantage at halftime but used a quick flurry of points to stretch the lead in the third period.
Freshman Cameron Christie hit a 3-pointer, Sobkowicz had a 3-point play moments later, then junior Max Christie also had a 3-point play to pace the Mustangs to a 44-28 lead.
Max Christie finished with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.
"We made some halftime adjustments," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "The kids executed really well and we were able to pull away a little bit.
"It all starts with Max. He's so unselfish and I know he had a ton of assists tonight. He makes the right basketball decisions, he's such a great teammate and gets everyone involved, and he does whatever we need him to do. If we need him to score, he scores - if we need him to distribute, he distributes. Just a phenomenal kid and a great player."
Rolling Meadows led by as much as 24 points, but Hersey cut into the lead and got within 64-49 with 4:18 remaining in the game when Brent Wolff hit a long 3.
But the Huskies weren't able to get any closer than the final score.
Junior Ethan Roberts led Hersey with 17 points, Randall added 11 and teammate Griffin Ginder finished with 7 points.
Sobkowicz and Cameron Christie each scored 12 points for the Mustangs, while Jonah Ogunsanya contributed with 7 points.
"Hersey is a really talented team," said Katovich. "We prepared all week for them. We got off to a fast start but knew they were going to come back, and they did. They're a nice team, but I'm really proud of our guys."