Last second shot earns win for Posen in Rogers City
by Richard Lamb—Advance Editor
The lead changed hands five times in a wild second half of action as Posen defeated Rogers City 36-34 last Thursday (Dec. 7). A short banker from Posen’s Jared Sharpe with 4:30 left in the third quarter gave the Vikings their first lead of the game. The teams traded free throws until the last minute of the quarter.
Luke Tulgestke muscled up a shot after getting an offensive rebound to give the Hurons a 28-26 lead with 34 seconds left in the frame. But Posen tied the score at 28-28 as Jeremy Misiak hit a jumper from the free-throw line 15 seconds later.
Each team dug in on defense early in the fourth quarter, contesting every shot and limiting second-chance attempts. Eyan Hincka’s 10-footer from the left baseline gave the Vikings a 33-31 lead with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, but Tulgestke’s bucket tied it again moments later.
Mark Wisniewski untied it by hitting one-of-two free throws, after Huron forward Kaleb Budnick picked up his fifth foul with 2:40 showing on the clock. The teams traded turnovers until Posen regained possession with less than a minute left in the game and called timeout.
Leading by one point, Posen milked the clock until the 20-second mark, when a Sharpe 3-pointer missed the mark. A quick rebound by the Hurons and a long pass to a streaking J.D. Ellenberger ended up with a foul, sending the Huron sophomore guard to the free-throw line with 17 seconds left. He missed the first shot but drained the second one to tie the game at 34-34.
Posen worked a play that set up Sharpe for a runner. Sharpe dribbled on the right sideline, passing the ball in the right corner to Wisniewski, who fed a cutting Sharpe for a shot that spun around the rim before rolling in for the winning shot with three seconds showing on the clock.
Rogers City led 16-12 after the first quarter and 23-17 at halftime.
Misiak led a balanced Viking scoring attack with eight points while Dyan Schuch scored seven, while Wisniewski, Sharpe and Avery Werth all scored five points each.
For the Hurons Ethan Hincka scored eight points
Rogers City hit on 9-of-19 free throw attempts while Posen connected on 7-of-13 from the line. Hincka and Schuch nailed the only 3-point field goal for their teams.
In the junior varsity game, Posen broke out to a 19-2 lead after the first quarter on the way to a 55-38 win over Rogers City. Chase Dubie scored nine and George Kroll added eight in the big first quarter.
Posen led 31-13 at halftime and 42-27 at the end of the third quarter. Kroll led all scorers with 19 points while Dubie added 16. Lucas Stone had nine points for Posen.
Matt Newhouse had 14 points and Johnny Chamberlain added nine for Rogers City.