Hersey has early consistency in win over Wheeling
Hersey coach Steve Messer found the consistency he was looking for from his boys basketball team.
At least for a half.
Hersey's defense was in high gear from the start en route to a 17-point halftime advantage against visiting Wheeling.
Hersey then weathered a bit of a Wheeling uprising in the third quarter before pulling away with a 60-42 Mid Suburban East victory in Arlington Heights.
"The first half was very solid," said Messer of the Huskies, who have been searching for their rhythm. "It is the first time we played a half consistently."
Hersey (5-4, 2-1) had no problem in finding its gear on Friday as it jumped out to an 8-0 advantage and led 21-7 entering the second quarter.
Senior Jordan Mertes, junior Connor Miklasz and sophomore Justin Jobski spurred the Huskies defense and had Wheeling reeling with 14 turnovers in the first half.
"When the defense gets going it helps the offense," said Mertes, who scored 13 points and had 5 steals. "I think we're definitely making progress."
Mertes converted a steal into an easy layup for a 15-point lead with 3:07 remaining in the second quarter.
"Hersey's strength, quickness and athleticism on both sides of the ball is excellent," said Wheeling coach Lou Wool. "It caused us a lot of problems."
But the consistency Hersey found in the first half suddenly disappeared in the third quarter.
Wheeling (2-6, 0-3) used a 12-2 run to narrow the margin to 37-29 with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. Junior Riley Harvey scored 6 points during the run for the Wildcats.
But Hersey answered, as junior Tom Sutrinaitis scored 9 of his game high 17 points in the third quarter and the Huskies used a 10-0 run to close the quarter increasing its advantage to 18 points.
"We just have to start clicking a bit more," said Sutrinaitis of the Huskies attack. "We had a bit of a letdown on defense, but we came through in the end."
Junior guard Tyler Shapiro scored 8 of his team-high 13 points in the final quarter but Wheeling got no closer than 12 points.
"I was really happy with the way we played in the second half," added Wool. "I keep preaching to play hard and the effort was there. I think we keep getting better."