Hot shooting by Bret Karsten and a swarming defense helped the Hurons to a 62-46 win over Cheboygan Tuesday. Karsten pumped in 12 of his game-high 27 points in the first quarter as the Hurons took a 15-9 lead. While Karsten looked for the ball on offense, the Huron defense forced the Chiefs into tough shots. Junior center Scott Kowalewsky limited the Chiefs to one shot on most occasions as he snared 14 rebounds, had three blocks and five steals. Rogers City took the lead for good on a Karsten three-pointer with 3:41 left on the clock in the first quarter. The Hurons pulled out of their zone and went into a man-to-man defense at that point.
A QUICK RUN at the beginning of the second quarter made the lead 22-13. Kowalewsky hit a put-back shot, Scott Grulke made a lay-up off a long pass from point guard Andy Tulgetske, and Karsten made a driving lay-up, was fouled and hit the free throw in the 90 second run. The Hurons led 29-21 at the half. Cheboygan concentrated on Karsten in the third quarter, limiting him to just a free throw, but the Chiefs couldn?t handle the Hurons as the visitors had control of the game on both ends of the floor. The closest the Chiefs could get was five points, at 37-32 with 2:23 left in the third before a 5-0 run over the next two minutes made it 42-32. In the fourth quarter, the Hurons? press gave the Chiefs fits, extending the lead to 48-34 with five minutes left in the game. The Chiefs couldn?t get any closer than 10 points in the fourth quarter. Coach Karl Grambau said he is pleased to be 3-0 heading into the Christmas break. Tough foes in Inland Lakes and Sault Ste. Marie face the Hurons in the New Year.
?WE COULD have been a little more patient on offense in the first half, but we were better in the second half,? he said. Grambau said the plan was to show the Chiefs many different looks on defense, and that, coupled with just eight Huron turnovers, made the Hurons tough to beat on this night. ?We did lots of good things tonight and mixed up our defenses very well,? he said. Grulke had 14 points and three steals and Kowalewsky added eight points while Cody Wirgau had seven rebounds.
THE HURON JV hung with Cheboygan but finished on the short end of a 70-57 score. Rogers City led 18-17 after the first quarter but trailed 34-29 at halftime. Devon Ferris scored 15 points while Justin Idalski had 14 and Kevin Fairbanks scored 13. The JV Huons fell to 1-2.