Sportsbeat-Upsetting the tournament apple carts

March Madness was in full bloom during district week for our local boys? basketball teams. Squads that had their way during the regular season ran into unexpected challenges, proving once again there are no easy games once the playoffs get started. Rogers City had to fend off an upset bid at home last Friday in the district title game, while Posen came really close to bouncing a top-10 school in Hale. Huron players and coaches were probably wondering from where the Inland Lakes boys? basketball team that showed up last Friday came from. On paper, it wasn?t hard picturing the district trophy going from athletic director Pat Lamb?s hands right into the trophy case.

The Hurons took care of I.L. in both regular season games, including a dominating home court performance just a few weeks ago, however, the Washington Generals stayed home for the third and final battle between these schools. There seemed to be a lot of fans arriving late, and I assume they were listening on the radio and must have decided to get to the gym to do some cheering and yelling in person.

IT CERTAINLY wasn?t pretty. The Hurons couldn?t finish plays, getting open looks at the basket, especially in the paint, but shooting the ball too hard or off mark. I.L. turned the ball over in many different ways, including a pass that was tossed into the hands of official Ken Wozniak, a play I can?t remember seeing before. Yet, the Bulldogs seemed to make the plays or find the open player to keep the game close. They still had the Hurons in sight, and were down by three with three minutes to go. Evan Wagner?s baseline jumper in the closing minutes, along with a flurry of scoring plays by Erik Meharg made the difference. Following Wagner?s shot, Meharg made a finger roll lay up and came up with a steal on I.L.?s next possession and streaked in for another two.

Free throws down the stretch widened the gap and helped the Hurons get over the final hurdle and to the trophy/medal presentation they had set their sights on before the season started. And let me add, the game may not have gone the way the Huron players had expected, but it certainly didn?t spoil the party in the middle of the home court. Once the sting of Monday?s regional loss wears off, they?ll always have that night to savor. DOWN IN Hale for the Class D dis

trict tournament, all the talk was about a classic Hillman vs. Hale district title game. Not so fast, was the statement Posen made on the court against Hillman (19-1).

Hillman fans were holding their breath with every possession of their team, while Posen played loose and looked ready to pull off the upset. The Vikings let the game slip away in the fourth quarter on missed shots that were made earlier in the night. What I believe fans saw in Hale was a passing of the torch, as Posen should be ready to take the spot Hillman and Hale have enjoyed at the top of the standings the last couple of seasons.

The Vikings will have the triple-scoring threat of Shane Hentkowski, David Kerr and Jerome Ciarkowski back, along with the down-low presence of Tyler Kuffel and Travis Hirschman to go with a good crop of players from the junior varsity. The immediate future looks very bright for the boys.

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