Alcona takes advantage of Huron turnovers to defeat Rogers City 65-40; JV stays undefeated at 3-0
Too many turnovers cost the Hurons any chance of defeating Alcona Tuesday (Dec. 17) as the Tigers topped the Hurons 65-40. ?We didn?t take care of the ball too well today,? said Huron coach Karl Grambau after Tuesday?s loss dropped the team to 1-2. Turnovers and missed shots put the Hurons in an early hole as Alcona jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Finally, with 3:03 left in the first quarter, Kyle Greene drove the right baseline and hit a reverse layup for the Hurons? first score.
Two three-point shots by Tim Cercone, the second on an inbound play, cut the lead to 18-11 at the end of the quarter.
THE TIGERS came out hot again in the second quarter, building the lead to 31-11 before the Hurons got two on a banker from Greene. But the Hurons managed just seven points in the quarter to go down 37-18 at halftime. In the third quarter, Branden Kania?s tip-in stopped a 4-0 Tiger run to make the score 41-20 with 5:22 remaining in the quarter. Greene scored the Hurons? last seven points of the quarter and the Hurons had a bit of momentum, trailing 45-27 after three. That tide would turn on the strength of a 16-0 Tiger run in which seven different Tigers scored. The three minute span closed the door on any comeback thoughts for RC.
?IT IS disappointing for us to get beat as bad as we did at home,? Grambau said. ?We have to learn from it and cut down on our mistakes. We have to learn to snap out of it.? Greene scored 17 points, 13 in the second half, while Cercone added 10. The junior varsity Hurons came out on the winning end of a 49-47 score to move to 3-0. Clutch free throws by Charley Smolinski, who led the team with 15 points, sealed the win. Rogers City JV led 22-16 at halftime and 34-30 at the end of the third quarter.
THE VARSITY notched its first win of the season Friday with a solid performance in a 73-53 win over Inland Lakes. The Hurons tied the score at 8-8 when sophomore guard Isaac Momrik hit a three pointer with 3:59 left in the first quarter. Rogers City took the lead for good 20 seconds later when Greene hit an open Adam LaLonde for a bucket. LaLonde led all scorers with 24 points while Greene added 18. Cercone scored 17 point
Rogers City led 20-11 at the end of the first quarter, 39-22 at the half and 58-42 at the end of the third quarter. In the junior varsity game, Rogers City went to 2-0 with a 76-52 win over the Bulldogs. Chris Paschke scored 20 points while Bill Lince added 14.
THE HURONS are off until playing in a holiday tournament at Boyne City. The varsity will square off with the hosts Friday, December 27 at 8 p.m. while Cheboygan will play St. Ignace at 6 p.m. The winners square off the next night at 8 p.m. while the consolation game will be played at 6 p.m.
The junior varsity will play Boyne City at 3 p.m., while the Cheboygan vs. St. Ignace JV game tips off at 1 p.m. The consolation game is at 1 p.m. December 28 while the JV championship game is set for 3 p.m. All games will be at the new Boyne City High School gymnasium.
