Injury to their sharp shooter hands the Chieftains a loss

By Ginna Young

Hosting East Lakeland Conference foe Clayton, the Lake Holcombe boys basketball program got off to a good start, with senior Brian Strzok holding down the opposition and coming up big on offense.

“He was controlling the floor, distributing the ball and finding his own shots,” said coach Dave Engel.

That all came crashing down, when Strzok took a finger to the eye, resulting in him leaving the game.

“After the injury, Clayton was able to attack on offense and defensively, moved to a tight 2-3 zone,” said Engel. “We were able to force them to extend their zone, but were unable to capitalize on the opportunities we got.”

The Chieftains couldn’t hold back Clayton and the visitors took the win, 50-45. That makes Lake Holcombe’s record 3-4 on the season and 1-2 in conference action.

Sophomore Emmit Johnson finished the night with 12 points, while Strzok had 10, before the injury, as did sophomore Connor Kane. Junior Brody Miller was right behind, with 9 points, with freshman Kyle Heidtke adding 4.

“I’d like to thank the EMTs and medical professionals that assisted with Brian,” said Engel. “It’s good to see our community members and school step up, when needed.”