Reszotko's clutch 'D' lifts Hersey

Twenty points and a pair of 3-pointers wasn't quite enough Friday night from Hersey's Sean Reszotko.

No, Huskies coach Steve Messer had one more thing in mind for his 6-foot senior guard: Defend Prospect's Mike LaTulip for the final 5.9 seconds and make sure he doesn't add a fourth 3-pointer of his own to tie the game.

LaTulip had already hit 6 straight shots from the second quarter into the fourth, including a pair of 3-pointers, and, like Reszotko, had a game-high 20 points.

So, Sean, what to do?

"Stay in front of him, don't foul him," Reszotko said of the instructions he had from Messer for the player everyone pretty much figured would take the final shot for the Knights.

Reszotko did his job, as LaTulip fired up a rare long-range miss off the right of the rim and time expired on a 65-63 win for a Hersey team looking for some consistency in the Mid-Suburban East (3-5, 2-1).

"It was all Sean," Messer said of his senior coming through against the Knights guard who had terrorized the home-standing Huskies with his pinpoint shooting.

"It was a real team win," said Messer, whose team pulled off hustle play after hustle play in the most clutch situations.

Hersey battled back twice, first in the third quarter after Prospect scored 10 straight 7 by red-hot LaTulip and 3 more by Jack Landwehr, who played a solid overall floor game. Vuk Vukovic and Stefan Vucicevic sparked that rally with strong play around the basket.

And after Prospect (3-4, 2-1) surged ahead again late on Kevin Somogyi's reverse layup putback and free throws, Hersey scored 8 straight points on free throws by Vukovic, Kevin Kozil and Trevor Haas and Justin Jobski's layin on a feed from Vukovic before Brad Reibel broke the spell on a drive for the game's last points. Then it came down to Reszotko, LaTulip and a nervous 5.9 seconds.

Prospect coach John Camardella, a Hersey alum, almost stole one in his old gym. But also saw where he needs his team to pick up its game.

"Our defensive rotation is the biggest thing," he said. "Our offense is pretty good. We're right around 60, which is where we figured we'd be."

Rebounding, also a concern, was strong Friday as the Knights battled the taller Huskies to a virtual standoff on the boards.

And even though he would've loved one more basket from LaTulip, "He was feeling it," despite a bone bruise that kept him out of practice most of the week and kept him out of the starting lineup.

"It was a typical, really good Mid-Suburban East game," Camardella said, having played in so many himself.

It was just a little bit better for Hersey, which finds success when it's "playing as a team," said Reszotko.