It was a mixed bag of emotions for the varsity boys basketball team as the squad split their games with Kearsley and Clio this week.
Traveling to Clio on Friday, Jan. 29, it was a tale of two halves in the Wildcats 41-38 victory over Clio.
It looked like the Mustangs had everything under control by halftime. They held the Wildcats to 14 first half points, taking a six point lead, 20-14.
However, the Wildcats offense finally got going, scoring 14 points in the third quarter, taking a 28-27 lead into the final quarter. The Wildcats were able to extend their lead in the closing minutes and never allowed the Mustangs to get any closer than three points.
‘I liked Clio’s game because one, we got a win, and any win on the road is a great win; and two, I saw us get better at the things we struggled with on Tuesday,? said Head Coach Paul Marfia.
He added that the turning point in the game was the 1:40 they ran off the clock in the fourth quarter with their motion offense. ‘It ended with them fouling Kevin Cramer, who hit both free throws,? said Marfia. The free throws pushed the lead to seven late in the game.
Junior Chris Calvin led the Wildcats with 13 points, while senior Kevin Cramer added 10 points and senior Mike Bertling contributed nine points.
There was a different ending for the Wildcats after playing Kearsley at home on Tuesday, Jan. 26. The Hornets used a late fourth quarter surge to defeat the Wildcats 55-50.
The game was close throughout, and the Wildcats found themselves holding onto a 39-34 lead after three quarters.
But the Hornets wouldn’t be denied, outscoring the Wildcats 21-11 in the final quarter. According to Marfia, the two biggest nemeses to the Wildcats came up in the final quarter: allowing too many easy points and settling for jump shots instead of running the offense.
‘That takes a little maturation and understanding of the game execution at the end of the game, and we didn’t execute the way we needed to and Kearsley did,? said Marfia.
Kearsley shot 11-14 from the free-throw line in the fourth.
Senior Matt Veersteg led the Wildcats with 21 points, while senior Tommy Nieman had 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The Wildcats were handed another blow when Nieman injured his knee late in the fourth quarter when he landed after dunking the basketball. It is not sure when he will return.
‘Nobody is going to replace Tommy, but hopefully everyone is going to pitch in a little bit and take care of that void,? said Marfia.
The Wildcats record now stands at 5-8 overall, 5-6 in the Flint Metro League. The boys now enter a stretch where they play five of their next seven games away from the home gym. They travel to Fenton on Feb. 2 before returning home for the Winterfest game against Lapeer West on Friday, Feb. 5.