Rogers City overcomes cold second quarter to beat Onaway

by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor

The Huron boys? basketball team overcame a dry spell in the second quarter to take a 53-42 win in Onaway Tuesday. Powered by an aggressive defense and three-pointers by Jesse Wilbert and Chris Peacock, the Hurons took a 12-4 lead in the first quarter and appeared on the way to an easy win. Not so fast as the Cardinals shut down Rogers City for the first five minutes of the second quarter to take a 13-12 lead. The Hurons came out slow in the quarter and Onaway?s tight man-to-man defense caused some Huron turnovers.

Chase Grulke?s jumper from the corner at the 2:46 mark broke the Cardinal run. On the next possession Grulke snared a rebound and hit the banker as the Hurons led 16-13. Rogers City led 20-16 at halftime but struggled to find the right combination. ?It is obvious we haven?t been playing a lot of basketball. We haven?t gotten in a groove yet. We had one game over break. We have been at this for nine weeks and only have nine games in,? said Huron coach Jesse Streich.

A basket by Jesse Wilbert, a three-pointer by Austin Brege and inside buck

ets from Jordan Bellmore and Devin Hilla made the Huron lead 29-19 midway through the third quarter. Another three from Brege and five points from Chris Waibel down the stretch closed the quarter with a 38-24 Huron lead. The closest Onaway came in the fourth quarter was 40-27, after Joe O?Bradovich?s free throw with 6:11 on the clock. ?Once we get in the groove, we will get better. We missed a lot of shots and the majority of them where within 5 feet or closer,? Streich said. ?Our big guys have to convert. I just challenged them all in the locker room. We can?t play like this and expect to win a lot of games.?

Streich was impressed with the team?s hustle and the fact they battled back after a dry spell. Waibel led the team in scoring with 19 points and had seven assists while Jesse Wilbert added 12 points. Bellmore had 11 rebounds and Brege notched four assists. The Huron junior varsity showed some improvement but lost 53-29 to Onaway. Rogers City trailed 11-7 after the first quarter and 24-12 at halftime. Paul Wilbert and Tyler Longoria had nine points while Dylan Ciarkowski added seven. Both Huron boys teams are in action at home Friday against Sault Ste. Marie. The teams travel to Rudyard Monday in a makeup game. Meanwhile, the Huron girls? basketball team, inactive since last week, will travel to Sault Ste. Marie Friday and host Rudyard Monday.