Royals hit boards in second half

Hinckley-Big Rock's Ryan Korth passes the ball over the outstretched arms of IMSA's Jonathan Czerwonka during Monday's game.
(Donnell Collins / For the Beacon News)

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HINCKLEY -- Up only two points at the half of Monday's non-conference game against IMSA, the message for Hinckley-Big Rock's boys basketball team was real simple.

"It was a wake-up call at halftime," Royals guard Ryan Salazar said. "We knew we had to hit the boards stronger. I think that's what ignited our offense."

With better rebounding and a renewed commitment to taking the ball to the basket, the Royals were able to extend the lead to as many as 16 points before holding on for a 59-49 win.

Hinckley was up only 25-23 at the break, as IMSA (2-13 overall) dominated the boards 25-16 and led 16-15 at the 5:45 mark of the second quarter on Evan Schwerbrock's only basket of the game.

The difference between the team's field goal attempts in the first half, 35 for IMSA compared to only 24 for the Royals, highlighted the rebounding differential.

"It was a good game overall, but the first half was excellent," IMSA coach Renard Miller said. "In my opinion, we should have been up at halftime, not down. We rebounded great. We had only five turnovers. The first half was a really great half for us."

But Hinckley-Big Rock (10-8) emerged from halftime looking like a different team, going on a 14-4 run to start the half and build a 39-27 lead. Keying that surge was Salazar, who scored four baskets in the run, all on driving layups. Salazar tied Brian Michaels for team-high honors in points with 18.

"That was there in the first half, too," HBR coach Bill Sambrookes said of Salazar's drives. "What we were able to find out offensively was the diagonal pass was open. Ryan is real strong on the inside, even with his size (5-foot-11)."

Indeed, the Royals held a 15-10 rebounding edge in the quarter, which was the main point of emphasis of Sambrookes' halftime chat. And Miller pinpointed the reason his team lost its rebounding edge in the second half.

"I think our defense lapsed," Miller said. "We gave up a lot of uncontested lay-ups on the baseline. Our big guys didn't contest the shots. You have to contest their shots, make them do something different."

Despite the loss, IMSA took many positives from the game. Last year when the two teams met, Hinckley-Big Rock delivered a big beating. This time, however, the Titans trailed by only two at the half and managed to get the final margin down to 10 on the road.

"We take a lot of positives from this," Miller said. "A couple guys had their heads down in the locker room, but there's no reason to. The difference from when we played these guys last year to this year, this was a heck of a basketball game. Unfortunately, we came out on the losing end."

Hinckley-Big Rock 59, IMSA 49