Turnover-filled second half leads to collapse for Vikings

There will be better nights ahead for the Posen basketball team as they lost their season-opener Tuesday to Cedarville. It?s the third season in a row the Trojans have defeated the Vikings in the first game. The Vikings were playing well through the first two-and-a-half quarters and it was anybody?s ballgame with a couple of minutes left to play in the third quarter. After senior Josh Konieczny scored to give Posen a 39-37 lead, Cedarville went on a 22-2 run to take control. The Trojans would hand the Vikings (0-1) a 77-54 defeat.

?WE PLAYED well I thought,? said coach Ron Misiak, ?for the first half of the first game. I thought we played well enough to win the game, but we have to play two halfs. In the third quarter we just fell apart.?

Posen had one of its largest leads of the game with 2:30 left to play in the first half when sophomore Matt Ponik drained an outside jumper for two of his 12 points on the night. That gave Posen a five-point advantage, but that quickly eroded when Cedarville stepped up the defensive pressure.

?You put it under your hat as a lesson learned and go to the next game,? said Misiak. The next two games are on the road, at Au Gres Friday and Mio Tuesday. The last home game of 2002 is a week from Friday against Hillman.

THE SEASON couldn?t have started better for the Vikings. Konieczny had the first points of the season, sophomore Aaron Hincka had a couple of rebounds and a field goal, while Ponik scored and provided an assist on Hincka?s bucket, to help Posen go on top 6-0. The Vikings didn?t let Cedarville score until 3 minutes and 37 seconds had elapsed in the game, so the defense was where it needed to be as well.Hincka displayed a nice shooting touch from outside and hit a shot from the high-post area to give Posen an 8-2 advantage. He would tie Ponik for the team lead with 12. The Trojans then turned the table on the home team, going on an 8-2 run themselves, to tie the score at 10.

JUNIOR RON KROLL made a three-point play with 27 seconds left in the first quarter, the Trojans added a free throw, and the second quarter opened with Posen leading by two, 13-11. After Ponik added another assist on a Konieczny field goal, the game was a back-and-forth, nip-and-tuck affair. Through the middle portion of the second quarter, the lead exchanged hands six times. Junior Jesse Romel provided a spark off the bench, immediately scoring three points. He added another field goal with 20.9 seconds left in the half to give Posen a 30-27 lead, but the Trojans countered with a three-pointer to tie the game at halftime.

THE VIKINGS started the second half much the way they did the first with four quick points, coming from Kroll who scored on a baseline drive and an offensive rebound.

As the halfway mark of the third quarter approached, the Trojans briefly took a one-point lead before Hincka hit another soft jumper to tie the game at 37.Konieczny then gave Posen its last lead of the night before the wheels fell off.

?They got some easy bas

kets and we just couldn?t get our composure back. They made a couple of nice shots and a couple of steals,? said Misiak. ?Some of our good players turned the ball over. I don?t know how many turnovers we had, but it was too many, especially the third and fourth quarter.?

KROLL FINISHED with 10, seven in the second half. Konieczny scored eight while Jesse Romel had seven.Senior Drew Paquin was the leading scorer with 21 followed by junior Jason Sweeney who had four three-pointers and 20 points.

It was an opening night sweep for Cedarville as the Viking JV lost 67-29. Matt Szczerowski had 20 rebounds and 16 points>

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor