Milligan's best effort helps Hersey top Wheeling

Hersey's Mark Milligan played through some injuries that prevented his 'A' game from appearing during the early part of his senior boys basketball season.

But Tuesday night against visiting Wheeling, Milligan measured up, scoring 19 points to help lead the Huskies in a 57-48 win in the Mid-Suburban East.

"I'm getting back into the swing of things," said Milligan. "It was a great week of practice for me after getting through some nagging injuries. I have to give credit to my teammates for getting me the ball for good shots. When I hit those first few it got my confidence going."

Defense helped the Huskies (4-3, 1-1) stay on top after Milligan converted a 3-point play with 3:04 left in the first quarter to break a seven-all tie.

Hersey forced 20 Wildcats turnovers, which included 12 steals by the Huskies. Joe Coffaro, who backed up Milligan with 14 points, had 5 steals.

Hersey coach Steve Messer lauded the defensive play of Milligan and Coffaro.

"Mark has a large wingspan and he's always in position," said Messer. "He's there to give help if needed. Joe played really good defense, particularly in the fourth quarter when he picked up one of the steals and hit for a 3."

Coffaro's 3 with 2:34 left gave the Huskies a 52-41 lead, and the Wildcats (3-5, 0-2) couldn't quite answer.

"One of our keys to a game," said Wheeling coach Mike O'Keeffe, "is to take care of the ball. You can't give a team like Hersey that many opportunities and expect to win. Right now we've been a little careless with the ball."

Leading 23-19 with 2:03 left in the first half Milligan stole the ball and scored before hitting a 3-pointer as Hersey used a 7-2 run to end the quarter and lead 30-21.

Hersey opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run to lead 36-21 after converting on two of four Wheeling turnovers.

Wheeling showed its grit by scoring 10 unanswered points to get back to within 36-31 with 3:10 left in the quarter. Nick Janulis scored 6 of his 7 points and senior center Patrick Szpir scored 4.

Hersey kept the Wildcats at bay to finish the quarter ahead 44-37 and then built a 53-41 lead before coasting to the finish.

"Szpir was a load for them," said Messer. "We tried to stop him but he played well."

Szpir scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-17 from the field to go with 8 rebounds.

"Pat struggled early in the game but then got it going," said O'Keeffe. "He was able to work inside and get position. He had some nice finishing touches."