For the Cardinal Huskies Boys basketball program, the past few years have been challenging. However, this season the Huskies are led by a group of underclassmen looking to turn things around.
Game photos click here.
For the Cardinal Huskies Boys basketball program, the past few years have been challenging. However, this season the Huskies are led by a group of underclassmen looking to turn things around.
On Dec. 30, with four sophomores and a freshman on the court in the final minutes, the Huskies held off a furious comeback bid by the Springfield Spartans to claim a 62-61 victory on their home court.
With less than 30 seconds to go in the game, and the Huskies clinging to a 60-59 lead, the Spartans made the decision to send the Huskies to the free throw line.
After the Spartans fouled sophomore Kannon Strever, he went to the line to shoot two free throws.
Kannon Strever explained that during the intense final minutes, staying relaxed under pressure was key.
“You just got to stay calm and not let them control the pace, you just got to slow it down,” Strever said.
As Kannon Strever went to the foul line with the game on the line he was focused on making both free throws in order to deny the Spartans a chance to hit a game winning shot.
At the free throw line, Strever concentrated on his breathing in order to stay calm and keep his mind clear.
“I was just breathing, not letting anything in my head, I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Strever said. “I just shot my two shots. Stayed calm and made both my free throws.”
After Strever put the Huskies up 62-59, the Spartans had a final opportunity to complete a miraculous fourth quarter comeback and send the game into overtime.
In the final moments of the contest, Kannon Strever said that the Spartans ran a nice play to attempt a shot from behind the arc.
The Spartans’ last gasp attempt to tie the game created high excitement for fans in attendance. The first three point attempt was rebounded by the Spartans who quickly kicked it out beyond the arc.
The Spartans then got a second open look, but missed again. A Spartan player then rebounded the ball directly under the basket and put the ball in the basket at the buzzer.
Huskies win, 62-61!
Although the contest ended close, the Huskies took an early 20-10 lead after the first quarter.
Helping the Huskies get out to a big lead was sophomore Carson Davis who hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Davis, who led the Huskies with 18 points, said that he was just trying to stay calm and relaxed throughout the game.
In the second quarter, the Huskies were led by sophomore Joey Komandt who had 6 of his 10 points in the period.
Komandt said that his focus during the quarter and throughout the game was not only to put the ball in the basket, but to also focus on passing and rebounding.
“I pretty much was trying to get more rebounds than points,” Komandt said. “I was trying to help the team out because we have a little bit of trouble with our size in getting rebounds. So I try to be in the paint more, get some buckets in the paint, instead of shooting three’s.
In the second half, the Spartans narrowed the lead down to 53-41 after three quarters.
In the final quarter, Komandt said that the Spartans were able to get back in the game by increasing their pace and causing turnovers.
“They pretty much just ran us in that fourth quarter,” Komandt said. “They caused some turnovers. We couldn’t really score the ball, we were getting pressured. But we ended up still hanging on and taking the “W”.
In the final quarter, the Spartans outscored the Huskies, 20-9, to make the final score 62-61.
For the game, the Huskies were led by Davis (18 points), Kannon Strever (13), Ian Sindelar (11), Komandt (10), Blake Strever (3), Lauri Ala Uotila (3) and Sam Pannetti (2).
After the victory over the Spartans, Huskies Head Basketball Coach Kyle Deckerd said that he was proud of the effort his team gave throughout the contest.
“The kids played really hard,” Coach Deckerd said. “That’s really what it comes down to is their effort and their will to win. It’s really awesome. I’m so proud of the young group that we have. These guys get better every single day, it’s really great.”
