By: Ella Fowler, Kelsey Bruzek, Tyler Elzholz, and Jaiden Basinger
February 9, 2021
On Friday, February 5, the Hurricanes broke out of quarantine and were ready to get back onto the hardwood. After a close and tough battle last Saturday against Cuyahoga Heights, the Hurricanes knew that more opportunities were on the horizon, and one opportunity came on the road at former Patriot Athletic Conference foe, the Black River Pirates.
Last night, the Hurricanes traveled back home with their first victory of the season, 54-44.
Sophomore Jaiden Basinger scored the opening bucket with a close-range, bank shot, and this quick basket kept early-momentum in Brooklyn’s favor with a 7-0 run. Overly-aggressive defense by juniors Jacob Sullivan and Maceo Pytel put them in early foul trouble, but the intensity was set as the Hurricanes ended the first quarter with a 16-7 lead.
Throughout the second quarter, the Hurricanes continued to play well on both sides of the floor, controlling every aspect of the game. This effort and execution led them to a halftime lead of 28-15.
The Hurricanes came out in the second half and started off strong with immediate, defensive pressure. Forcing turnovers led to easy, transition baskets, and the Pirates were now in a deep hole, trailing the Canes 45-23 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Pirates tried to make a comeback, cutting the Brooklyn lead down to single digits, but the gap was too much to overcome with time not in their favor.
The final score of 54-44 gave the Hurricanes something to smile about, especially after their recent adversity.
Basinger led the way with 20 points, while junior Jordyn Fougerousse added 11 points.
Head coach Jerrod Karl stated, “We played well enough to win the game but still have things to work on. We need more focus on executing the plays more efficiently to reduce the amount of turnovers.”
Defensively, the team had their best performance of the season, a trend that Karl and his team hopes to see in every game the rest of the way.
Now getting the proverbial monkey off of their back, the Hurricanes return to action tonight as they host CVC rival, the Independence Blue Devils.
Good luck, boys. Go get win number two!
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 