The Cubs hoopsters finished their mini-road trip and regular season action last Friday, March 3, with an exciting 44-43 win over Maple Lake.
Scoring was difficult in the first half as both defenses played very well. Despite the Cubs finding a number of good looks, shots were just not falling. Though the game was nip-and-tuck most of the way, Kimball found themselves down seven in the waning moments and managed to overcome the deficit to take a 41-40 lead with 1:08 remaining. When one of the seemingly many Irish sharpshooters drilled an NBA-Curry-range three, Maple Lake went up by a bucket with just 22 seconds showing. The Cubs missed a shot and gave a foul, but the Irish failed on the front end of a one-and-one and Kimball corralled the rebound.
Del Guerrero had a great look from the top of the key but couldn?Äôt convert. After pinballing through a plethora of palms, the elusive orb was finally embraced by Drew Gustafson. Drew zipped a zooming zephyr to an unattended Michael Hoffmann who found a wide-open Guerrero. Del buried the three with 4.9 seconds left to give Kimball the lead back. The Irish missed a long three at the buzzer, and the Cubs had their 21st victory of the season.
?ÄúWe needed a close game to play in because so many of our recent games were one-sided. It was great to see the players respond in the face of some adversity. A game like this can definitely help us with the playoffs coming up,?Äù said Coach Jay Klein.
Cubs?Äô Scoring: Darius Westrich 8; Hunter Ahlrich 3; Del Guerrero 7; Hayden Gagnon 17; Drew Gustafson 5; Levi Sodergren 2; Michael Hoffman 2.
Kimball hosts Isle Thursday at 7 p.m. The winner advances to face the Upsala/Swanville winner Saturday.