IVHS boys basketball team nets first season win
From our weekly issue dated December 16, 2009
A California tournament last week gave the Illinois Valley High School boys varsity basketball team its first win of the year.
The contest came after a Tuesday, Dec. 8 loss at St. Mary’s School in Medford. IVHS sophomore Fred Hults scored 20 points in that 66-49 loss.
On Thursday, Dec. 10, the squad participated in the Mt. Shasta Tournament and lost its first game against Weed, 63-54.
Junior Roger Hults scored 22 points, with his brother Fred scoring 11 and junior Jesse Bethke scoring 10. Coach Jeff Winters said that the team’s 23 turnovers led to its defeat.
“I feel we should have won that game,” Winters said. “Too many turnovers prevented us from winning the game against Weed.”
The IVHS hoopsters fared better on Friday, Dec. 11, when defeating Pierce High School, from Arbuckle, Calif., 70-67 in double overtime.
Fred Hults made a 3-point shot at the regulation buzzer to tie the game. He also scored 11 of the 20 points the team scored in overtime, including two foul shots.
Roger Hults scored 25 points in that game, and netted 8 steals, 7 assists and 13 rebounds. Senior Ben Kendall scored 13 points; sophomore Troy Mikels scored 7; Bethke scored 5; and senior Tobin Mikels scored 5.
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A winning streak wasn’t in the cards for the Cougars, as they later lost to host team Mt. Shasta High School, 85-49. Roger Hults scored 15 points in that effort, with Fred Hults scoring 12 and Tobin Mikels scoring 6.
IVHS was down 38-26 at halftime, at which point Winters said the team “fell apart,” and was outscored 47-23 in the second half.
Winters said that the Mt. Shasta squad had a strong tradition to uphold, after winning its league last year.
The IVHS team is improving with its rebounding, Winters said, but turnovers remain high, and defense still is lacking.
“You can’t give up over 60 points and win easily,” he observed.
On Friday, Dec. 18, the team will head to Del Norte High School in Crescent City, Calif. for a tournament.
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