Cougars win one on the road vs. Rogue River
From our weekly issue dated December 23, 2009
A short trip to Rogue River proved fruitful for the Illinois Valley High School boys varsity basketball team, which netted its second win for the season.
The Tuesday, Dec. 15 game resulted in a 68-59 victory for the Cougars and a series of stellar showings from many squad members.
Coach Jeff Winters said that a fast start was the key to victory, as IVHS was up by 7 by the end of the first quarter.
“They got out of the gates early,” he said. “They were pumped up for that game.”
Senior Ben Kendall scored 14 points in the first quarter, ending with 22 total.
“He was on fire,” Winters said. “He played the best game of his life against Rogue River.”
Sophomore Fred Hults scored 15 points. His brother, Roger Hults, scored 10.
The team didn’t fare so well at a weekend tournament at Del Norte High School in Northern California. That four-day tournament began on Friday, Dec. 18, and had IVHS filling in for a team that was unable to participate.
IVHS played its only game of the tournament against Hupa High School, and lost 87-79. Hupa held a 44-30 lead at halftime, and was up by 24 points in the third period.
A fourth-period rally helped the Cougars close that gap to within 8 points, and was fueled by a stronger defensive showing and more steals.
Hupa’s squad sank 14 out of 16 foul shots in the fourth, and 26 of 31 overall, which helped seal the win.
“If they wouldn’t have made those, we would have won the game,” Winters said. “They’re a good team. They’re fast and have a couple of good scorers.”
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Junior Roger Hults scored 24 points, and Fred Hults scored 19, all of them in the second half.
Winters said that the IVHS team has vastly improved its rebounding. Fred Hults and sophomore Andrew McLaughlin both pulled down 10 boards. McLaughlin didn’t start the game, but came off the bench and scored 8 points.
“He might become a starter here really quick,” Winters said. “He’s playing really good.” Up next for the Cougars is a Monday, Dec. 28 trip to Eagle Point High School. Winters said that he’s concerned that the Christmas holiday will prevent his squad from practicing as much as he’d like.
Even though Eagle Point is a 5-A school, with IVHS in 4-A, Winters said the Cougars stand a good chance of winning.
“We played them last year and beat them,” Winters said. “I think if we go over there, play a good game, don’t throw the ball away and play good defense, I think we could beat them. But under the circumstances with not much practice time, it’s hard to say what these guys will do.”
Immediately after that is a tournament in Glendale set for Tuesday, Dec. 29. IVHS is scheduled to play against Powers and may end up playing the undefeated host team. But Winters said that he is confident that the Cougar hoopsters can snap Glendale’s streak.
IVHS has a 2-5 record.
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