Hubmen Go 1-1 in Weekend Basketball Tourney
By Tracy Helgerson
Last weekend the Hubmen varsity basketball team participated in the Maple River Hardwood Classic Tournament. On Friday, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) defeated the Hubmen and on Saturday, Jordan beat Maple River in an overtime thriller!
JWP 83 Jordan 64
In game one, the Hubmen ran into a hot shooting JWP team. The Bulldogs came out on fire connecting on multiple three pointers to take an early 11-4 lead. JWP pushed the score to 22-11 with all of Jordan’s 11 points coming from post Mitchell Schmidt. While Jordan struggled to get going, the Bulldogs led 41-27 at the half.
The second half was much the same. JWP continued to score from all over the court. Their lead was 65-48 with 10 minutes left and eventually 81-61 with 3 minutes to play. For the game, the Bulldogs connected on 15 three pointers shooting 45% from deep.
Lexyn Grof paced the Hubmen with 26 points and 5 assists. Mitchell Schmidt added 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Graham Helgerson chipped in with 7 points and 4 assists.
Jordan 87 Maple River 82
Unlike the night before, game two was a different story. On Saturday Jordan came out with defensive intensity and aggressiveness on offense. The first half was a game of runs between Jordan and the host team Maple River. The Hubmen scored early to lead 11-7. The Eagles had a mini run to close the gap to 16-15. Then Jordan responded to go ahead 29-18. The game was tied at 39 before Senior Noah Robinson hit a 3 at the buzzer to put Jordan ahead 42-39 at the half.
Both teams exchanged baskets and leads in the second half. Jordan led 59-53 with 9 minutes left in the game. It was all tied up at 63, before Maple River went up 67-63 with 5 minutes to go. The Hubmen responded and held a 5-point lead with 1:40 left. The Eagles fought back to tie the game at 74. Both teams exchanged points to force overtime tied at 76.
In overtime, Lexyn Grof hit a 3 and made 2 free throws to give Jordan a 5-point lead, 83-78, before fouling out. Maple River scored and cut the lead to 83-80. Clutch free throw shooting by Graham Helgerson and Mitchell Schmidt in the final minute helped Jordan secure the win. The 87-82 overtime thriller was a team win from start to finish.
Lexyn Grof led the Hubmen with 32 points including 8/8 free throws, and 4 steals. Noah Robinson scored 16 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Mitchell Schmidt had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Brayden Davis had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
Congratulations to Lexyn Grof for making the Hardwood Classic All-Tournament Team!