When you’re going into war, it’s nice to have the big guns on your side.
War is pretty much how Maine West coach Jim Sullivan described this weekend, a back-to-back road campaign that began with a league showdown at Highland Park (which the Warriors captured 49-48) and ended 24 hours later with a non-conference battle at Hersey.
They say God is on the side of the bigger battalion, and Sullivan has a double-barrel threat in 6-foot-7-inch Lucas Johnson and 6-8 Kevin Frey. The combined for 56 points Saturday night as No. 9 Maine West went home with a 78-60 victory.
“This was the most physical back-to-back weekend we’ve ever had in the time I’ve been here,” said Sullivan. “We knew this was going to be a very, very big weekend for us. Both games on the road, against similar teams — both very physical — with good crowds. To come out of this with two wins . . . Let’s just say that I’m very pleased.”
He was particularly pleased with the play of Johnson and Frey. Johnson had 32 points and eight rebounds while Frey kicked in 24 and nine boards. Whenever Maine West (16-2) needed a lift, one of them provided it — usually in spectacular fashion.
“Am I happy to have them?,” Sullivan asked rhetorically. “In a word, yeah.”
Hersey (7-10) got 17 points from Joe Pace, 14 of those in the second half and a dozen in the third quarter when the Huskies cleaved what had been a 34-24 deficit down as low as three at 45-42. Mike Kulbeda added 12.
“When we took care of the things we could control, specifically free throws and turnovers, this was a close game,” said Huskies coach Don Rowley. “That’s what we did in the third and we got it down to a three-point game. You can’t control the fact that guys are 6-7 and 6-8, but you can contest them. We got away from that, they hit that run and that was the ball game.”
The run Rowley referred to was a 14-0 dash that began when Johnson nailed a long three-pointer as the third quarter came to a close and ended when he rifled a pass through the lane to Brad Alesi for a layup that put the Warriors up 20 at 64-44 with 5 minutes 33 seconds to play.
Hersey didn’t throw in the towel, however. Pace scored on a baseline drive to initiate a 12-1 spurt that pulled the hosts within 69-58 with 2:26 left, but Maine West closed the game out with a 9-2 stretch.
“Playing a team like that really exposes the things you need to work on,” Rowley said. “I like that we didn’t quit and we competed late. And it’s hard to compete with a team that has two Division I players on the floor. But you can’t posterize ’em, either, and I thought we stood up to them pretty well.”
Frey and Johnson opened the game with a pair of hoops right under the bucket, and the Warriors held a 7-5 lead after the diminutive Huskies guard David Hess (six points) nailed a trey from the right wing.
Then Maine West’s frenetic transition game kicked into gear. Alfredo Jimenez (seven points off the bench) hit a 10-footer, Frey made one of a pair of free throws and Bart Fabian (eight points) put back a wayward Frey trey. Johnson ended the 9-2 streak with a tip-in of his own miss and a 10-footer as the quarter ended with the Warriors on top 16-7.
Hersey held tough in the second, eventually pulling within six at 24-18 on a three-point bomb by Pace. But Maine West — actually Frey and Johnson — went on another tear, this time a 7-0 run to move the lead to 31-18.
