Hornets feel heat

Harvard forward Zach Fiegel loses control of the ball during the Hornets’ 53-42 loss to Genoa-Kingston in their IHSA Class 2A North Boone Regional semfinal Wednesday in Poplar Grove. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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POPLAR GROVE – Harvard’s boys basketball team thought it would hang with Genoa-Kingston and make things as difficult as possible at the end, just as it had in most games since January.

“We wanted to stick with them, make it a dogfight and steal it at the end,” forward Chase Blazier said.

G-K’s Scott Suchy did not let that happen. The Cogs senior guard converted a crucial four-point play in the fourth quarter as G-K held off Harvard, 53-42, in their IHSA Class 2A North Boone Regional semifinal game Wednesday night.

Thanks to Suchy’s blazing first half and game-high 26 points, top-seeded G-K (19-7) will meet No. 2 Rockford Christian in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday. G-K led at halftime, 28-15, after Suchy dumped in three three-pointers and
15 second-quarter points.

Harvard (9-19) fought back in the third, hitting 6 of 8 field goals to cut the lead to 38-35 early in the fourth quarter. With 5:54 remaining and the Cogs leading, 40-36, Suchy hit a three from the left wing and was fouled by Blazier. He hit the free throw, and Harvard could not get closer than seven points the rest of the game.

“We showed a lot of heart and guts getting it to three,” Harvard coach Will Benson said. “We just had too many empty possessions in the third quarter with unforced turnovers and we couldn’t recover.”

The Hornets’ Cristian Renteria and Colin Carpenter both hit threes during the third-quarter rally, and Blazier, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, scored in a tip-in, then got a layup off Carpenter’s steal and pass to make it 38-35.

“We didn’t want our season to end,” said Hornets forward Zach Fiegel, who scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds. “Our goal was to win a regional championship and our seniors saw it could all be over.”

That urgency showed in the comeback. But Suchy, who was so hot in the first half, drilled one more big shot.

“That was good for our momentum,” Suchy said. “When I hit that, we settled down and played ball.”

Suchy’s second three of the game, early in the second quarter, banked in. He hit two more within the next 1:30 and had 18 points by halftime.

“You have to tip your hat to that guy,” Fiegel said. “He banks one in to get going, then he wouldn’t miss.”

The Hornets’ 1-3-1 trapping defense helped them fluster G-K and slow Suchy down in the second half. Harvard became a stubborn team to put away in the second half of the season.

“After Christmas, when we didn’t have a good tournament at Marengo, coach [Benson] really took over in practice and got us in shape,” Blazier said. “We really showed a lot of improvement.”

Benson, in his first year, thought both he and the players learned a lot as the season progressed. They played Big Northern Conference East Division champion Richmond-Burton to the wire twice and knocked off runner-up Hampshire.

“We felt like I got used the them, and them to me,” Benson said. “We were a tough out. In the last 10 games, we were playing our best basketball. G-K definitely had to earn this one.”