With just four practices in since the holiday break, coach Mark Risen wasn’t sure what to expect when Sweet Home went to Toledo, a team they defeated earlier in the year in overtime.
What they came home with, a 54-49 victory, was just fine with Risen, given the conditions withwhich the team has had to deal.
Like other schools, practices were limited with the weather problems. Unlike other teams, the Huskies had two starters, Tyler Emmert and Ricky Howe, with extended illnesses that limited their playing time even more. Risen went into the game thinking he would substitute often in four minute segments, especially given the fact that the younger Husky players had competed well in previous games.
But Risen changed his mind as he watched the Huskies come out aggressively and takecommand in the first quarter, apparently not feeling the effects of the layoff quite as much ashe had figured. Tim Matuszak, Anthony Mink, and Howe led the effort early on to jump to a sixpoint lead, splitting up the scoring and Howe controlling the boards.
Toledo changed defenses from man to zone late in the first quarter, so the Huskies tried topull the ball out and work for the wide open drive to the basket. But they couldn’t execute theplan and the Boomers scored the last six points to tie up the game at the end of the quarter,12-12. Throughout the whole second quarter, the game went back and forth, with each teamholding a minimal lead at one point or another. The Huskies used four 3 point shots, three byMink and one by Matuszak, to take a two point edge going into halftime.
The game was decided in the third quarter when the Huskies took their only extended run of the contest. Junior Garrett Kauffmann became the go-to guy as he scored nine of his twelvepoints. The quarter started with a back door alley-oop pass and ended with the same play as the Huskies eventually led by nine at the end of the quarter, 46-37.
“We run that play every day in practice,” said Kauffman, who tried to keep in shape on hisown through the break. “It’s always open.”
But the big run didn’t start until there was two and a half minutes to go. And that startedwith a Kauffman three point shot and a Kauffman to Mink pass on a fast break. Then the Huskieswent inside to Alex Ritzman and Matuszak scored on a drive down the lane.
Toledo scored the first two points of the fourth quarter, but Kauffmann answered that withanother three pointer. Toledo then decided to add pressure defensively, including a full courtpress, which allowed them to get back into the game. The Huskies, who had nine turnovers inthe fourth quarter, went on one stretch of turnovers on four consecutive possessions. However, Toledo couldn’t find the bottom of the basket until just past the midway mark in the quarter, when they scored nine points, seven unanswered, to cut the lead to 52-49 with about a minute to go.
The press forced the Huskies into one more turnover and a missed free throw on their next two possessions, but Toledo forced up a couple of ill-advised three pointers which were defensed tightly by the Huskies. Mink iced the game with two free throws and finally the Huskies could gettheir breath.
“We had more athletes with a little more basketball savvy,” said Risen. “We didn’t execute the way we are capable, but that just equates to time in the gym. Bottomline, we walked out with a win. Given the circumstances, I was very happy with it.”
Mink, who led the Huskies in scoring with 24, felt that conditioning was the biggest problem for Sweet Home.
“Guys were tired and shots were coming up short,” said Mink. “We need to establish our defense more. We haven’t been getting the fast break points off the defense, but it’s hard to play tough defense without legs.”
Despite being away from the gym so long, veteran seniors Emmert and Howe led the team in rebounding with seven and six respectively.
Risen’s goal for this next week is to get the Huskies ready for league play by the end of the week.
“We are going to work a lot on execution types of things,” said Risen. “We’re doing almost everything live. Normally I’m a big drill and repetition guy, but there’s no time for that.”
Basically the Huskies will try to keep things simple and execute what they have in place well.
By the second half of the league season, Risen hopes to have installed the full package.
Kauffman sees things shaping up, despite the adversity.
“I think we are coming along,” said Kauffman. “Everything is starting to fall into place as it should and should get better by the time league comes along.”
Mink thinks the team can overcome the interruptions of the season’s difficult beginning.
“Everybody is mature about it,” said Mink. “We all embrace it together and try to get through it.”
They take another trip to the coast this week, this time to Newport, before coming home to play Banks on Thursday.