Hurons sharp in wins over Rudyard and St. Ignace

Wins at St. Ignace Tuesday and at home against Rudyard last week have the Hurons on a roll. At 10-3, the Hurons have won five in a row and eight of their last nine. Rogers City defeated St. Ignace 66-46 and Rudyard 64-60, avenging losses to each team earlier in the season. ?I think our kids are really playing well together offensively and defensively,? said coach Karl Grambau. ?I?m really proud of the team for getting two big wins in a row.?

THE HURONS used a stifling zone defense to limit the Saints to just two field goals while jumping out to a 15-5 first quarter lead. The Saints scored for the first time at the 4:01 mark of the first quarter, played at a slower pace than the first contest between these two teams two weeks ago. In that one, the Hurons tried to run with the always-pressing Saints in a 75-72 loss. This time, with the pace more to the Hurons? liking, a patient Rogers City offense worked the ball inside and the Hurons hit layup after layup over a frustrated Saint team.

Tim Cercone hit a short shot,off a Kyle Greene pass at the 1:59 mark. Ten seconds later he had the ball back, hit the layup, and a free throw. Then he scored on a fast break to give the Hurons a 12-4 lead. Isaac Momrik came off the bench and drilled a three-pointer to close the scoring in the first quarter. EACH TIME the Saints made a stab at getting back into the game, the Hurons responded with a run. With the score 19-12, Rogers City came back with the next 11 points to make the score 30-12 at the half. Then with the score at 35-21 with 5:23 left in the third quarter, the Hurons came back with a five-point run. Foul trouble for Greene, Cercone, and Clay Hilla had Grambau shuffling his lineup a bit, but didn?t hurt the Hurons in the end. Momrik led the team with 15 points, Cercone and Greene each had 14 and Adam LaLonde scored 13.

LALONDE?S 21 points paced the attack last Friday in the Rudyard win. Rudyard led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter and 33-24 at halftime. Free throws, which plagued the Hurons in the loss to St. Ignace two weeks ago, became the Hurons? strength on this night. Rogers City hit on 27-of-42 free throws while Rudyard went to the line just eight times, connecting on four. The Hurons took the lead 46-41 after three quarters. Greene had 19 points and Cercone added 10 in the game.

IN THE JV games, Rogers City split with the UP teams, winning a 72-68 thriller ov

er St. Ignace and losing to Rudyard, 66-57. At St. Ignace, Derek McLennan?s 33 points led the team as St. Ignace cut a 10-point fourth quarter lead to four in the closing moments. Rogers City led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter and 36-25 at halftime. Justin Wilbert scored 15 points and Andy Tulgestke added seven. Against Rudyard, the Hurons played without a few of their big men, but gave the Bulldogs a fight. Rudyard led early, 17-8 at the end of the first quarter, and 37-33 at halftime. Nick Kowalski scored 18 points, with five three-pointers. Wilbert had 11, and McLennan and Chris Santini each scored 10.

Both Huron teams have Friday off then travel to Onaway Tuesday.