Cold shooting costs Hudson boys basketball vs. Wadsworth

Hudson's Nolan Yanak puts up a shot over Twinsburg's Sean Cleveland during a game earlier this season.
Hudson's Nolan Yanak puts up a shot over Twinsburg's Sean Cleveland during a game earlier this season.
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Shooting slumps have been the Hudson boys basketball teams’ prime shortcoming this season.

The reoccurring issue bit the Explorers again Jan. 24 when they hosted Wadsworth at Ray “Buck” Hyser Gymnasium.

It just came down to a 0-13 shooting spell in the second half that cost the hosts a chance against the Suburban League foe.

When Hudson went cold early in the second half the Grizzlies (10-5 overall, 4-4 in National Conference) pulled away from a 26-26 stalemate and coasted in to a 52-44 win.

The loss was the Explorers eighth in a row after they reached the .500 mark at 4-4 late in December. In nearly every game this year the locals have had dry spells. Against Wadsworth the lull came immediately after they pulled even with the visitors at 26-26.

Tino Yli-Junilla dropped through a pair of free throws just 22 seconds after the intermission to tie things up and suddenly the basket had a lid on it.

Wadsworth’s Caden Madigan drove down the lane for the go-ahead (28-26) score 19 ticks after Yli-Junilla converted at the stripe. The Explorers then took two shots at the lead on their ensuing possession but both three-point attempts found iron. Madigan led all scorers with 19 points.

The Grizzlies methodically pulled away from there making 7–8 shots from the floor while the Blue and White couldn’t break the O-for streak. Sixteen straight points from Wadsworth pushed its advantage to 42-26 late in the third quarter. Yli-Junilla, who led Hudson with 14 points, ended the scoreless streak of nearly seven minutes splitting a pair of charity tosses in the final minute of the third period.

“Offensively in the first half, a lot of guys scored for us. We had four or five guys in the scoring column and we moved the ball well.” coach Stockard said. “In the third quarter we got similar shots. They were good looks we just couldn’t get them to go. Often times our issue isn’t that our defense falls apart it’s our offense stops scoring.”

The 0-11 third stanza woes continued into the fourth as the local missed two more shots and trailed by as much as 46-27. Junior guard Reece Chokan finally got a shot to fall through the nets as he drained a triple from the right wing off a pass from Luke Brennan. The field goal, at the 5:39 mark of the fourth quarter, snapped a field-goalless span of 10:35.

With the lid finally off the basket Hudson fought to the finish as seniors Michael Steel and Nathan Miller each converted three-pointers. The Explorers made seven of their final eleven shots but could get no closer than the 52-44 final difference.

The Explorers opened the contest nicely as Brennan hit the squad’s second shot, a trey from the left corner. On the Grizzlies third possession a Nolan Yanak steal led to Yli-Junilla getting loose for a fast-break layup. Hudson was up early 5-0.

Less than a minute later Fritz Trautmann drove in for a deuce to make the score 7-2 in favor of the good guys. Unfortunately three turnovers and four missed shots by the hosts allowed Wadsworth to string together ten straight points and go on top 12-7.

The 6-1 Trautmann grabbed the third of his team high six rebounds to help the Explorers stop that run as Steel scored inside. Hudson won the rebound battle 26-19.

Wadsworth led 15-9 after one period but the Explorers fought back in the second quarter. Trautmann, Brennan and Yli-Junilla all hit threes in the second quarter. Yanak hit twice in the paint and Yli-Junilla beat the full court press for two as well. Hudson trailed the entire second stanza but pulled to within two at 26-24 before the break.

After a 4-15 shooting effort in the first quarter and 6-11 in the second the hosts were down by just two because of their defense. Despite a 10-4 disadvantage in turnovers through the first 16 minutes they were in the hunt because of rebounding (a 15-8 edge) and defense. This same Grizzly team had made 14-25 three pointers in the first meeting between the two, an 86-64 Wadsworth victory in mid-December.

In that game Wadsworth senior Solomon Callaghan torched the Explorers for 27 points. On this night the one-thousand plus career scorer was held to 13 points.

“Our D was great in the first half. I thought Nolan Yanak did a good job on Solomon Callaghan. He’s at least top two for player of the league right now. That guy is phenomenal. He’s going to Wright State for a reason. Nolan did a good job battling him; we did a great job on him,” Stockard praised. “Luke Brennan did a great job off the ball. He’s kind of our sag-off guy guarding their big guy. He blocked a lot of shots or at least adjusted them.”

The defense kept up their first half numbers allowing 26 points in each half. The three-point third quarter on offense was the team’s downfall.

“It’s really, really hard to get momentum and excitement from your players when you don’t score enough,” Stockard added.

Hudson had a chance for a sweep in the triple-header. Both the freshman squad and junior varsity team came back against the Grizzlies to record victories.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dry shooting spell dooms Hudson boys basketball against Wadsworth