Huskies snap skid with wins over Barnesville, Shenandoah

Leading into last Tuesday night, it had been 42 days since the Huskies last walked off the court as victors. The good news is that the drought is over.

The Huskies boys basketball team snapped a nine-game skid with a 61-47 triumph on the road at Barnesville to open action last week. Three nights later, the Huskies returned home for a senior night celebration that ended in the most desirable manner possible, a 56-45 victory over Shenandoah.

After grinding through over a month of bad breaks, the Huskies enter the final week of the regular season on a high note.

Barnesville and Harrison are certainly familiar foes this season, with the two meeting back on Jan. 24 in the Buckeye Eight crossover event. Barnesville won that tip 49-43. In a twist of fate, the two schools will get their opportunity to settle the score for the year, as the Div. V East District postseason bracket released this past Sunday paired the two schools in first round play.

Barnesville earned the 10-seed, Harrison the 12. Meaning the Huskies will return to “The Greenhouse” in Barnesville Saturday Feb. 28 for a rubber match, and an opportunity to advance directly into the district semi-final.

Head Coach Nick Yourkovich guided a three-headed monster against the Shamrocks last week. Leading scorer Bryson Kamarec did what leading scorers do, earning game-high honors with 17 points.

The future college product in Kamarec is more often than not at the top of the scorebook when he takes the floor. But the true difference was fellow senior Brady Hyre and sophomore Lance Smith. Hyre provided a season-high 14 points, and Smith earned the same with 15 of his own. Three players in double digits, a welcoming sight for Yourkovich and his staff. Colson Crothers (6), Austin Dulkoski (4) and Cooper Thompson (3) rounded out the book in the Barnesville victory.

Returning home, Kamarec and Hyre once again led the charge. Kamarec drained 15 against the Zeps last Friday night, with Hyre adding 12. What was most apparent in the Shenandoah victory was the scoring diversity.

In total, nine different Huskies found the bottom of the net. A high mark for the team on the year. Thompson led the supporting cast with nine points, all courtesy of the three-ball, and wildly enough he packaged all three of those strikes into the second frame before halftime. Notably the Huskies led 28-21 at the break, largely due to Thompson’s hot hand at the right time. Smith was strong again from his wing position, netting 7 with his aggressive style to the hoop.

Harrison had three regular-season games remaining: Steubenville Central at home Feb. 16, at Malvern Feb. 17 and Edison at home in Cadiz to close the regular season Feb. 23.