Kucza Goes Over 1000 Points During Hawks Busy Stretch

Click Here For The Complete
Hermantown-Hibbing Box Score

Feb 22

Wes Vork-NSO

Playing four games in eight days can be taxing on any team, but doing so shorthanded and playing three of four on the road makes the task all the more difficult. Such has been the last week for the Hermantown boys basketball team. During the difficult stretch the Hawks were able to go 1-3 against some good competition despite missing three players due to injury.

Feb 14 saw Hermantown travel to Grand Rapids to take on the Thunderhawks. The Hawks dug themselves a hole in the first half, ending up down 28-16 at halftime. Hermantown worked themselves back into the game and cut the lead to five points several times in the second half but eventually fell by a score of 70-59.

As has been the case for most of the season The Hawks had four players hit double figures; Cory Kucza and Corey Anderson ended with 17 points each, Spencer Johnson had 15, and Kevin Folman ended with 10 points.

On Feb 18 the Hawks hosted Ashland and picked up a big Lake Superior Conference win by beating the Oredockers by a score of 79-52. Hermantown took a seven point halftime lead and blew the game open in the second by applying a pressure defense and strong shooting from Anderson and Kucza. Anderson ended with 23 points and Kucza 21. Also in double figures for the Hawks were Folman and Johnson with 11 points each.

Just a day later the Hawks were back on the road and headed to Big Lake. Hermantown jumped out to a 20-12 lead, but the toll of the schedule and missing bodies caught up with the Hawks, who could not match the runs of Big Lake. Hermantown eventually fell 66-55 to the Hornets. All was not lost on the afternoon however when Corey Kucza went over 1000 career points in the game. Kucza is the first Hawks player to break the 1000 point barrier in well over a decade, he ended with 22 points on the day.

Tuesday Hermantown lost perhaps the most important game of the stretch when they dropped a 65-51 decision to Hibbing. The loss knocked the Hawks out of the #2 spot in the playoffs and puts them in the hunt for the #3 seed.

Hermantown got down early in the contest, spotting the Bluejackets 12 points at the break and heading to the locker room trailing 34-22. The Hawks worked hard in the second half and had some descent looks but just couldn’t get the shots to fall.

Once again the lack of players hurt the Hawks down the stretch. “We scrapped and clawed in the second half and had the lead down to eight on occasion, but we ran out of gas. Hermantown Head Coach Mike Pothast explained. Hermantown is currently without the services of Jake Lesar, Jeff Schade, and Alex Comstock who are all injured. “It’s Hard to come back like that and not run out of gas. But we can’t make excuses, we need to play better and not get ourselves in that spot.” Pothast added.

The Hawks will finish out the 2010-2011 campaign on the road with a game against Proctor on Friday and Duluth Central on Monday.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com