|
For two teams looking to find some momentum heading into district play, both Grand Island Northwest and Aurora may have found something on Thursday night.
In a game fitting of their rivalry, the Vikings leaned on their seniors on Senior Night for a 48-44 win over the Huskies.
"This was a good way for our kids to go out on Senior Night," Northwest coach Jeff Korus said. "Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job of playing with energy and we showed character and poise when Aurora made their runs."
The Huskies' last run nearly stole them a game in which they never led.
After sophomore Andrew Rodriguez tied the game at 42 with 4 minutes, 31 seconds left, Aurora got a chance to take its first lead on its next possession. But, Sean McCarthy missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity and the Vikings took advantage.
Devin Johnson, who led the Vikings (5-13) with 15 points, made the first of two free throws and Adam Wemhoff rebounded his miss. Northwest used another offensive rebound from Johnson to run the clock under two minutes, and then Wemhoff scored inside off a nifty pass from Ryan Kieselhorst with 1:32 left and Aurora didn't get any closer.
"It comes down to making one or two plays," Husky coach Mike Herzberg said. "You could see they had some experienced guys step up tonight and make plays and we didn't. But I liked the way we handled adversity and had guys step up throughout the game."
Korus thought that possession was the difference in a close game.
"We've been in a bunch of close games this year, but we've always been the one playing from behind," he said. "We told the kids if they didn't shoot to be crashing the boards. I think when we scored there, it might have took the wind out of them a little bit."
In theory, the Vikings won the game at the free throw line. They connected on 19-of-26 shots from the line for the game, but were 11-for-14 in the first half when they clung to a 28-27 halftime lead. The Huskies (2-16), meanwhile, managed just 3-for-12 and were 0-for-4 in the critical fourth period.
"You look at 19 to three on free throws and that tells you a lot right there," Herzberg added.
The Vikings came out in the second half and appeared to take control of the contest. They used a 9-2 run to build a 37-29 lead with 4:17 left in the period, but the young Huskies fired back.
Aurora scored six points in a 33 second span, and when Josh Bart scored on a pass from Tyson Broekemeier with 2:38 left in the period it was 37-35.
Broekemeier's 11 points led the visitors, while Dustin Hahn added 10 points. Wemhoff had 11 points and eight rebounds for Northwest while Kieslehorst added eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
AURORA (44)
McCarthy 1-7 0-1 2, Broekemeier 4-8 0-2 11, Jor. Bart 3-11 0-1 8, Hohweiler 0-2 0-0 0, Hahn 4-4 2-5 10, Rodriguez 4-7 1-2 9, Jos. Bart 2-5 0-2 4, Nitkiewicz 0-1 0-0 0, Grosshans 0-0 0-0 0, Standage 0-0 0-1 0, Grossnicklaus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 3-12 44.
NORTHWEST (48)
Wemhoff 4-7 3-5 11, Englund 1-4 0-0 2, Cox 1-5 0-0 3, Kieselhorst 1-3 6-8 8, Johnson 5-9 5-7 15, Pflasterer 1-3 2-2 4, Stutzman 1-3 2-2 4, Haden 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 14-35 19-26 48.
Aurora (2-16) 13 14 8 9 - 44
Northwest (5-13) 16 12 11 9 - 48
Three-point goals - A 5-18 (McCarthy 0-4, Broekemeier 3-6, Jor. Bart 2-6, Jos. Bart 0-2), NW 1-11 (Englund 0-3, Cox 1-5, Kieselhorst 0-1, Pflasterer 0-2). Rebounds - A 30 (Hohweiler 7), NW 29 (Wemhoff 8). Fouled out - none. Total fouls - A 19, NW 16. Assists - A 12 (Jor. Bart 4), NW 9 (Kieselhorst 3). Steals - A 11 (Jos. Bart 4), NW 6. Turnovers - A 11, NW 14. Technicals - none.
* girls
Aurora 54, Northwest 41
Aurora (6-13) rode a big advantage at the free throw line to a 54-41 win over Grand Island Northwest.
Although the Vikings were able to outscore Aurora from the field, the Huskies connected on 23 of 33 at the line compared to Northwest's 6 of 15.
"We played one of our best games offensively," GINW coach Russ Moerer said. "We did a really nice job moving the basketball and finding Julie Stoltenberg inside, who had a big night for us."
Stoltenberg led the Viking attack with a game-high 18 points.
Laura McQuiston led the Huskies with 16 points, while Ashton Henderson added nine.
Aurora (6-13) 14 10 17 1354
GINW (2-15) 7 17 3 1441
AURORAMoyer 5, Gowen 1, Ziola 4, Lackore 6, Cepek 6, Henderson 9, McQuiston 16.
GINWBerry 2, Havanek 7, Birch 2, Rouzee 7, Schacher 5, Stoltenberg 18.
Want to comment on this article?
Register on our forums and post your thoughts.
It's free and easy to do!
independentforums.com
|
