Hersey struggles again

For the second consecutive game, Hersey struggled to put points on the board.

Glenbrook North’s pressure defense stifled the Huskies and allowed the Spartans to cruise to a 67-39 victory in the Billy Schnurr Basketball Tournament at Niles West.

Hersey (0-2) managed only 8 points in each of the first three quarters.

“We need to read the defense better,” said Hersey head coach Steve Messer. “I think there are times when we try to force something that isn’t there. Then there are times when we’re not screening or reading the screen very well. All of those things will get us more points.”

Glenbrook North (2-0) raced out to a 19-8 lead with 6:28 left in the second quarter before Hersey went on an 8-2 run to close the gap.

“We came out ready but not as ready as they were,” said senior Justin Jobski. “We didn’t battle.”

A scoreless drought of 4 minutes and 22 seconds spanning the second and third quarters put Hersey too far behind as Glenbrook North increased its advantage to 34-16.

The Huskies had trouble scoring inside with the Spartans’ 6-foot-8 Andrew McAuliffe (game-high 24 points, 5 blocks) lurking in the paint.

“(Hersey) plays so hard and works so hard and with their foul trouble, I think they got tired,” said Glenbrook North coach David Weber. “We picked up our intensity in that stretch. But they played hard and were physical and caused a lot of problems for us.”

Hersey found its groove on the offensive end in the fourth quarter as Sean Reszotko (8 points) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Trevor Haas found Vuk Vukovic for a 3.

“In that area, they shared the basketball,” Messer said. “A lot of times in the fourth quarter, some teams start to break down defensively. There were moments in the game when I thought we played good team offense, shared the ball and got each other good shots.”

Jobski led the Huskies with 10 points while sophomore Mike Fuerst added 7.

Junior point guard Kurt Karis controlled the game with 19 points and 4 assists for a Spartan squad that capitalized on Hersey’s early foul issues by converting 15 of 18 from the free throw line.

“Believe it or not, we played better than we did on Monday,” Messer said of a 48-28 loss to Lake Forest. “That’s progress and we’re glad about that, but we don’t have the consistency that we need to have.”