Onekama bows out
to Frankfort
By DYLAN SAVELA
Manistee News Advocate Sports Writer
Published:
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
ONEKAMA — At first glance,
Onekama looked to have the momentum heading into Monday’s Class D
district quarterfinal against Frankfort.
The Portagers had capped off their regular season with resilience,
winning five of their last eight games after a 1-9 start, whereas
the Panthers hit a late-season skid and ended on six losses.
Onekama is also this year’s host of the district tournament, and on
Monday played on its home hardwood.
But what’s the best way for a visitor to silence the home crowd?
Well, the Panthers’ 10-of-13 performance from the field in the first
frame seemed to do the trick. Frankfort had all the momentum it
needed after a 25-9 opening-quarter lead as the Panthers ousted the
host school 77-47 to earn their bid in Wednesday’s semifinals
against Bear Lake.
Frankfort saw heavy scoring contributions from post players
Brandon Miller and Adam Plumstead with 20 and 15 points,
respectively, while guards Owen Stratton and TJ Darling
scored 19 and 15.
Onekama wasn’t helped by the fact senior forward Skyler
Kimpel, who has missed games down the stretch of the regular
season due to a knee injury, went down and out of the game
on Onekama’s opening possession.
“No question that hurt us,” Portagers coach Jim Hunter said.
“They’ve got good-sized kids. Him not playing probably hurt
us tonight more than any night.”
In their second-leading scorer’s absence, Onekama junior
Adrian Norman scored 18 points with three assists while
teammates Kyle Acker scored nine with six boards and three
assists, Bryce Reckow and Ryan Pienta scored six apiece,
Rease Heiler scored four with six rebounds and Matt Monroe
had four points and two steals.
After the Panthers’ first-quarter tear, which included three
triples, their focus was on the low block through the
duration of the contest, as they pounded the post for high
percentage shots.
“Man-to-man, we just didn’t match up really well,” Hunter
said. “A lot of it was we just got frustrated.”
Frankfort went up by 20 points at 6:14 in the second with a
31-11 advantage, and entered halftime with a 46-27 edge. The
Panthers kept the Portagers at bay with a 62-35 lead at the
end of three before extending the edge to 30 with 6:31 left
in regulation.
|
Onekama’s Adrian Norman (11)
shoots during Monday’s district quarterfinal loss to Frankfort.
(Dylan Savela/News Advocate)
“You think you’re prepared, you
think you’re ready, but the pressure really steps up quite a bit this
time of year,” Hunter said, citing his team’s uncharacteristic mistakes
throughout. “We were late getting out on rotations and made some mental
mistakes. We haven’t done some of that stuff since midway through the
season ... we were having flashbacks to two months ago.
“That’s what happens sometimes when the pressure’s really cranked up a
notch,” he added, “you might revert back to what you know better than to
do.
“We just weren’t ready to play at the intensity level we need to. And
that’s on my shoulders.”
Despite Onekama’s early departure from the tournament, though, the team
can hang its hat on the surge to close the regular season.
“I’m glad we turned things around,” Hunter said of his first year back
as head coach of the program after a several-year hiatus. “But like I
tell the kids, it’s two seasons. That season was done and this was a
really short second season. I don’t mix the two, but I do give these
kids credit for a lot of improvement this year.” |
