By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
MANISTEE — Hart appeared to be taking control of the game in the first half, building a 14-point lead, but Reed City would not have any of it and came back to knock the Pirates out of the districts, 57-42 Wednesday night.
The game was the first of a Division 2 doubleheader at Manistee, and the Coyotes earned a trip to the district championship game Friday night against Ludington.
“They definitely attacked us, and definitely made some adjustments at halftime,” Hart coach Nick Bronsema said. “I feel that we went away from what was making us effective in the first half.
“No excuses. They figured it out. Figured out how to stop us. They had energy. They started to make that run and we couldn’t find an answer. That ultimately got us.”
Hart was all over the Coyotes in the first half. Blake Weirich knocked down two 3-pointers in the first quarter to spark a 10-0 run after the Coyotes had put in the first bucket of the game.
The Pirates took their biggest lead, 22-8, late in the second period when Weirich capped a 9-0 run. Reed City scored the final four points of the half to leave Hart in front, 22-14, at the half.
Reed City sprang to life in the third after Hart had stretched its lead to 26-16 and bolted ahead 27-26 with 4:46 left. It was 38-33 to start the fourth.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” said Bronsema. “The beginning of the season was tough, the middle of the season we were 3-8 and before this game we were 13-10. Tonight happened to be our time. All the credit goes out to Reed City.”
Weirich finished the game with a team-high 14 points and sophomore Caleb Ackley had 13.
Check out photos from the action shot by Joe Washington.
