Posen basketball season ends with 54-51 loss to Hillman
The Posen basketball team did everything but win Monday in its district semifinal game against Hillman. In front of a near-capacity crowd in Hillman, the Vikings built a 13-point second quarter lead, but couldn?t hang on as senior forward Nathan Timm sparked the Tigers? comeback with a game-high 19 points.
Hillman needed every minute of the contest to finally catch Posen, and had to hold off one last challenge in the last two minutes when junior Ron Kroll hit a three-pointer to give the Vikings a 49-47 lead. But with the score knotted at 51, Timm scored the game winning bucket on a jumper in the paint with 32 seconds remaining to put Hillman out in front one last time.
?YOU CAN?T ask for anything more, as hard as these guys worked,? said coach Ron Misiak. ?We knew we were a little bit overmatched. ?When I mean overmatched, I don?t mean size or physical ability, it?s that senior/sophomore thing. We made a couple of mistakes down low, nothing serious, but they sure took advantage of it.?
Hillman coach Ed LaFramboise said of the 21 games his squad played in the 2002-2003 season, Monday?s battle was the toughest.
?When we met them in early December, we could tell they were very young, (and) hadn?t played together, and they had some obvious weaknesses because of that youth,? said LaFramboise, who is coaching his final season with Hillman after six years.
?THE SECOND time we played them here, it was a very tight ball game and you could see their growth. Tonight you could see that next year they are going to be a force to be reckoned with,? LaFramboise added. The Vikings won seven of their last 10 games, including a victory over Cedarville last Friday, to end the season with a 12-9 record. ?I?m proud of the way the guys played,? said Misiak. ?We were really starting to play some good ball. We proved that tonight, that we can play with anybody in this area. We beat Cedarville, we beat some good teams. All things looking to next year, look fantastic.? Almost the entire starting lineup will be returning for the 2003-2004 campaign.
?They will not be easily beaten,? said LaFramboise, looking ahead to next season. ?I hope they continue to play hard and not take this loss too seriously because their future looks very bright if they keep working with their coach.?
THE VIKINGS started pulling away from Hillman late in the first quarter as senior Pat Bronikowski cut in toward the basket and converted a layup for a five-point lead with 45 seconds to go. Posen started the second quarter with a 17-12 lead. Sophomore Aaron Hincka drained a jumper, junior Jesse Romel cut to the basket and added two points, and sophomore Matt Ponik drilled a field goal, completing a 10-0 run.
Just past the four minute mark, the Vikings increased their lead to 13, 27-14, before Hillman began a turn-around. While Posen was able to keep senior Cory McDonald in check with nine points, he put points up when the Tigers needed them most. His three-pointer changed the momentum late in the second quarter. Another three for Hillman, and Posen?s lead was only seven heading into the break, 27-20.
PONIK GOT things going for the Vikes to open the second half for two of his team-leading 15 points, and junior Luke Hentkowski put in one of two free throws to put the lead back to 10, but Timm, in foul trouble most of the second half, took over, scoring all nine points in a 9-1 run for the Tigers. With 1:02 left in the third quarter, McDonald stole an inbound pass and went in for a layup to take Posen?s lead down to three, 35-32.
From there the spiral continued as the Vikings couldn?t get the ball past halfcourt. The Hillman crowd erupted when another pass was stolen and the Tigers tied the score at 37 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Hillman would take a six point lead before Posen took one more shot at advancing in the tournament. Kroll?s three pointer with 2:40 left was the last time the Vikings would have the lead.
Ponik tied the game at 51 with two free throws with about a minute left in the fourth. Hillman called timeout and went to T
?We sure got a lot of breaks early. We got some steals and some easy buckets, but in the third and fourth quarter, they seemed to get them,? said Misiak. Kroll and Hincka both finished with a dozen. Hentkowski converted on eight points. The exciting semifinal game overshadowed a huge regular season finale for Posen, as the Vikings won a convincing game at Cedarville, 75-64, to take their 12th contest.
Misiak said his team played all four quarters they way they did in the first half against Hillman, to defeat the Trojans. The JV lost its final game of the year, 75-55.
