Chieftains take out the Warriors, fall to Falcons
By Ginna Young
As the season races toward its last month of regular season play, the Lake Holcombe boys basketball program is in the thick of East Lakeland Conference action, splitting the week’s games.
Jan. 24 vs. Winter conference (W 83-63)
Playing one of their best games of the season, the Chieftains faced off with Winter in an away game. The first half left Lake Holcombe trailing by seven at the break, but the second half painted a very different picture.
The Chieftains dominated the Warriors in the second part of the game, outscoring the home team to take an 83-63 win.
Sophomore Brian Strzok and junior Taye Yeager led the team with 21 points each, followed by sophomore Ryley Craker, with 19, and senior Harley Schroeder, who put up 17 points. Junior Trent Nitek added 4 points on the night and sophomore Chase Burgess chipped in with 1 point.
“Owen Meddaugh (freshman) had some great minutes off the bench, filling in for Craker, who was in some foul trouble,” said coach Joy Webster.
Strzok pulled down 16 rebounds on the night, while Nitek added 9, followed by Schroeder, with 8. Craker and Schroeder combined for 11 assists, and Craker led the team with 5 steals, followed by Yeager and Strzok, with 4 each.
“It was a great team effort, with four players reaching double figures,” said Webster.
Jan. 27 vs. Flambeau conference (L 59-38)
To end the week, Lake Holcombe hosted Flambeau, with scoring at a premium in the first half. By the time the break was done, each team had shaken off their scoring woes.
“The score was within five points for the majority of the game,” said Webster.
Lake Holcombe was within five, with 4:54 left on the clock, but a turnover by the Chieftains and a quick threepointer by Flambeau, made it an eight-point game. The Chieftains started to foul and the Falcons went on to claim a 59-38 victory.
“The score doesn’t indicate the closeness of tonight’s game,” said Webster.
Shroeder was the only player to reach double digits, with 11 points. Craker followed that up with 9, while Strzok came away with 8 and Yeager chipped in with 6. Nitek added 4 points on the night to help out his team.
“With poor shooting that led to just 5 team assists, Trent Nitek had a great defensive game, with 14 rebounds,” said Webster.
Shroeder had a double-double, with 13 rebounds, and Strzok also pulled down 11 boards, and Craker led the team with 3 steals.
The Chieftains are now 5-10 on the season and 4-6 in league play.
“We plain and simply shot poorly from the floor tonight,” said Webster. “We were just 1 for 17 from three-point range and 14 for 44 in close range; that’s going to make it tough to win ballgames.”
