Second-half surge helps Hersey prevail at Wheeling
It didn't take long for Hersey's boys basketball team to overcome a halftime deficit Friday night at Wheeling.
The Huskies went on a 12-0 run early in the third quarter en route to a 55-48 Mid-Suburban East win.
Wildcats coach Michael O'Keeffe said the visitors' rally was not a big surprise.
"We talked to our kids about it," said O'Keeffe. "Game after game, year after year, Hersey comes out strong in the third quarter and punches you in the mouth - and that's what they did tonight.
"We were flying around in the first half, getting deflections off our 1-3-1 defense and causing disruption. Then Hersey out-toughed us and outhustled us in the third quarter, and that's disappointing. Still, we were able to come back and get within 3 points with 12 seconds left. We had a chance and that's all you can ask for."
The Wildcats were the aggressor in the first half, at one point stealing the ball from the Huskies on 4 straight possessions in the second quarter.
Wheeling senior Deshon Jacobs scored 7 of his game-high 16 points in the first 2 quarters to help the Wildcats to a 25-20 halftime lead.
The Wildcats still led 31-30 when a bucket from 6-7 Hersey forward Ed Mleko off a feed from Daniel Gritt put the Huskies (8-8, 4-1) up for good.
Ten more points followed in short order, and when Hersey senior guard Christopher O'Toole hit a 3, his team led 42-31.
"I really didn't think we were doing much different in the second half," said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "We were trying to go inside just like we did in the first half, but in the first half they (Wheeling) were getting deflections and tipped passes.
"We started passing the ball better, we were making our cuts and catching the ball."
Wheeling continued to play its up-tempo game in the final stanza, cutting into the Hersey advantage possession by possession.
A 3 from Jacobs brought the home team to within 51-48 with 12 ticks left, but Hersey senior guard Joe Coffaro sank 4 clutch free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
TJ Best scored 15 points for Wheeling (6-9, 2-2), while Hersey's O'Toole finished with 15 points on five 3s.
Coffaro pitched in with 14 points for the Huskies while teammate Ken Hasley added 12.
"We slowed the game down," said O'Toole of Hersey's second-half surge. "We got the ball into the middle, and that helped our outside shooters.
"We stayed on the ground (on defense) in the second half - we were jumping on balls early. All the teams we play in the MSL are tough. Wheeling has a tough 'D,' but once we figured it out we were able to get our points."