by HUDSON, Ohio– Senior point guard Luke Skaljac’s two free throws gave Brecksville a 56-54 lead with seven seconds left.
Moments later, he was able to free the ball loose, giving the ball back to the Bees where senior forward Colin Seibert iced the game away with two free throws, helping secure a 58-54 win Friday night.
“Our coaches are actually against it because it looks like we are making a tough play but we’re not,” Skaljac said relating to getting behind the defender and trying to pick the ball free from behind like he was able to successfully do. “I gambled on it and like coach always says, if I’m going to do it then I better get it and that’s what I did.”
FINAL: Brecksville 58, Hudson 54.
Luke Skaljac pokes the ball free where Colin Seibert ices the game away for @beeshoops @LSkaljac @colinseibert_ pic.twitter.com/c8UAHmIPuU— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) December 9, 2023
Trailing for most of the game, Bees head coach Steve Mehalik knew he had to rely on his whole team to mount a comeback. After Skaljac connected on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 54 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Mehalik went over to his team during the timeout to say one thing, “we know how to win.”
The Explorers would not score another point after that.
“We’re not quite where we need to be right now,” Mehalik said after the win. “We had some guys that were forced to have to make some plays and they did just enough.”
The Explorers appeared to be beating the Bees at their own game throughout the first half. Players like Nolan Yanak and Nikola Mijovic made a slew of sparks offensively to slow down the game plan for the Bees. The six-foot-six Mijovic made a big impact in the paint with six-foot-six junior Ben Mehendale picking up his third foul for the Bees early in the second quarter.
With the Explorers leading 14-10 after the first quarter, the Bees found themselves inching back with the stellar play from junior Brady Ganley. He found success coaching the glass where second-chance points came at a premium for the Bees. Junior Luke Reasor came off the bench for the Bees and had an immediate impact, especially on the defensive side of the ball with both teams trading buckets late in the first half as the Explorers had just a 3-point lead at Halftime.
Nolan Yanak puts Hudson up 19-13 with 6:10 left in the first half.
All the momentum right now is with the Explorers. @HudsonHoops_ pic.twitter.com/b22voUk9vo— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) December 9, 2023
Brady Ganley has had himself a solid first half, crashing the boards early to get this to go, getting his team within two. @BganleyG pic.twitter.com/Kmk1i5nnK7
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) December 9, 2023
“Reasor came in and had a big three and a charge, just energy that kept us alive in the first half,” Skaljac said about role players stepping up throughout the game. “Junior made some big plays, Brady made big plays, Rocco (Dean) off the bench, everyone contributed and it was a great team win.”
For the game, Skaljac ended with a team-high 17 points to pace the Bees. Junior Kambomba had 11 points along with nine points from Kyle Keener to round out the scoring.
For the Explorers, Nathan Judy paced the offense with 14 points. Reece Chokan finished with 12 points while Jayden Carlton and Nikola Mijovic each had nine points during the loss.
For Skaljac and the Bees, his team did just enough to earn a win, something that’ll help the team grow throughout the season.
“I think this team is ready for it and we have to trust each other,” he explained. “We did a decent job of that but we obviously have a lot of things to improve on to get better.”
