By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – The Hewitt Trussville Husky boys basketball team has seen peaks and valleys during this basketball season and Wednesday night was definitely a valley. In a season where the Huskies have proven that they can play with some of the best teams in the state, they have also failed, at times, to finish. Effort has never been an issue with the team but sometimes the ball just did not bounce their way and execution at times may have been an issue. But the boys never quit.
“Even though we are a little down about how it ended, I could not be more proud of our team and coaching staff,” said Hewitt Coach Jeremy Monceaux.
Wednesday’s game started with Spain Park, ranked in the top 10 in 7A, only managing 9 points against the Husky defense. Hewitt scored 10 points to win the period over the Jaguars, led by Reid Stodghill with 5 points and Braxton Brown with 3.
In the second quarter, the Huskies would hold Spain Park to 13 points on the defensive side. But Coach Monceaux’s boys could not find the basket in the second period, scoring just 5 points before the half. Brown would have another 3 and Legion Gaston had the other 2 for the Huskies. Hewitt would trail Spain Park 22-15 heading into the halftime break.
Hewitt would find some footing on offense in the third quarter but the defense would allow Spain Park to outscore them by one point, 14-13, in the period. Gaston would snag another 8 points to lead the Huskies in scoring in the third while Emeka Anwah would add 5. Hewitt would still trail heading into the fourth quarter, but they were still within striking distance, 36-28.
The Huskies would struggle again to find the basket in the fourth quarter, scoring just 8 points. Gaston led the way with 3 and Ray Rolley and Reid Stodghill had 2 each in the period. On defense, the Huskies played well, allowing just 10 points, but the scoring just was not there for Hewitt on this night.
Hewitt’s Legion Gaston led the way for them with 14 points on the night to go with 7 from Reid Stodghill.
“Obviously, we are disappointed. No one wants to see their season come to an early end. We did not play our best game tonight which makes it tough, but from an effort standpoint, our players gave everything they had and fought to the end,” said Coach Monceaux.
“We did not close the first half well and I think it got us in the end. It was 15-16 and we had three or four turnovers in the last few minutes before halftime. That was really the only significant run by either team and it just seemed like we were fighting an uphill battle that we could not over come after that,” continued Monceaux.
“These young men went from 8 wins last year to 18 this year and put Hewitt Trussville basketball back in the conversation of relevant programs in our state. We had 8 Seniors and they have raised the bar for what is expected with our program here,” said Coach Monceaux of his team.