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Hubbard rallies to edge West Branch
HUBBARD
After trailing at halftime, 22-18, Hubbard outscored West Branch, 21-13, in the third quarter en route to a 55-52 Division II sectional-opening win that gave Hubbard’s second-year coach, Justin Townsend, his first tournament victory.
Eighth-seeded Hubbard (10-13) now meets Poland on Friday for a third time this season. The top-seeded Bulldogs already beat Hubbard twice.
On Tuesday night, one sequence was especially critical when Bashar Rasoul, Davion Daniels and Dillon O’Hara were at the core of a late fourth-quarter spurt that pulled Hubbard from a 45-43 deficit to a 49-46 lead.
For the game, Daniels had 13 points and Rasoul 11 for the winners, while Brandon Zuchowski had a game-high 22 for West Branch. Teammate T.J. DeShields added 17 for the Warriors, who bowed out 9-14.
“It just came down to the last few plays and we knew that it was going to be them making some plays or us making some plays,” O’Hara said. “We ended up being the team to make some plays and winning the game.”
At halftime, O’Hara said that Hubbard’s coaches encouraged the Eagles to rebound, play fundamentals and stick to what the team does best.
“We wound up pulling it off,” O’Hara said.
Of Poland, O’Hara said, “They’re a good team, but when we play to our best, we could play with anybody.”
Rasoul used his body to occupy space, rebound and score.
“We knew they were a good rebounding team, so, at halftime, the coach told us to get on the glass and then get out in transition and get some easy buckets,” Rasoul said. “We did that in the second half and it resulted in a big run in the third quarter.”
Rasoul acknowledged that Poland is good, but he considers Hubbard’s third meeting with the Bulldogs as very win-able.
“They beat us pretty good, but we know it’s definitely win-able.”
Daniels said that “Coach Townsend wanted us to, basically, slow down the ball and spread it out so we tried to attack and not really hold the ball. That helped us.”
Of Poland, Daniels said, “In the previous games, we really didn’t sit down and play defense, so we’re looking to sit down and play defense and capitalize.”
Townsend explained how Hubbard recovered in the second half after West Branch outscored Hubbard in the second quarter, 11-7, to take a 22-18 halftime lead.
“We made some shots in the second half that we missed a little bit in the second quarter and, defensively, we did a better job – forcing a few turnovers and were a little more aggressive containing the dribble.”
Townsend said that West Branch freshman Reese Leone’s ball-handling was a threat.
“We did a better job on him in the second half, said Townsend, who explained that Leone didn’t play in Hubbard’s 64-56 win over West Branch on Jan. 7.
“He’s a great guard and he’s only a freshman. He’s going to be dangerous going forward. We knew this was going to be a battle coming in, but we did a good job on him and we’re just happy to have made some plays down the stretch. Overall, I love the way we played.”
Townsend said that the Eagles are anxious to play Poland.
“We’re ready for the challenge. If you want [your program] to get to a certain point, you’ve got to beat good teams and they’re one of the best around.”
A Hubbard miscue nearly sent its fans into a panic when Kent Kroynovich stepped over the endline while attempting to pass to a teammate with 4.4 seconds remaining. Trailing, 55-52, the turnover gave the Warriors one last stab at tying the game, but DeShields’ field goal try at the buzzer was short.