Harrison boys bow out to top ranked Beal City in district semis

By BEN MURPHY

Cleaver Sports Writer

Harrison certainly went down swinging against one of the best boys’ basketball teams in Division 3. The Hornets were taking on Beal City in the district semi-finals at Farwell on Wednesday, Feb. 25. They pushed the number one ranked Aggies to the brink, but had a late comeback bid come up just short, and their season ended on a score of 51-46.

“I am very proud of our team and how we played,” head coach Brad Carlstrom said. “Beal City is a tough team, and we stepped up to the challenge and took them all the way to the final seconds before they beat us. We faced tons of adversity but kept responding and that is a credit to the character of the young men on this team.”

Matthew Latunski had six points in the first quarter, including a three-pointer, but Harrison was behind 13-8 after one. Kelton Carlstrom hit a three in the second, and the Hornets also had field-goals from Alex Erskine, Jayden Bobzien and Latunski, and they faced a 26-18 hole at the half.

Threes from Latunski and Carlstrom highlighted the third frame, but Harrison trailed 40-28 entering the fourth.

Harrison played some of its best ball down the stretch, Latunski buried two three pointers, Carlstrom hit a three and had an and-one play and the Hornets pulled within one with less than one minute to play. The Aggies, who went on to claim the district championship two days later, were able to salt away the win in the final moments however.

“We had plenty of players contributing in big ways,” Carlstrom said. “Jayden and Parker Latunski defensively were amazing. Kelton and Matthew getting hot offensively in the second half, fourth quarter specifically, really rallied our 18-point comeback. Being down one point with 40 seconds to go to Beal was exactly the situation we would’ve wanted to be in, but unfortunately, we were unable to pull it off. We will be back next year with laser focus.”

Latunski hit four three-pointers in the game and finished with 19 points, Carlstrom had 12 points, Erskine added five, Peyton Gallo chipped in with four and Bobzien and P. Latunski all had two points apiece. Bobzien was big in rebounding as well, getting nine boards while M. Latunski and Gallo had four rebounds apiece, Bobzien added five assists and M. Latunski had three assists and two steals.

The Aggies were led by Grady Gatrell with 14 points and Garrison Zuker added 13 points.

Harrison finishes the season 11-13 overall, and as good as things were at times this year, Carlstrom knows that next winter could go even better.

“As far as next season goes, we are already anxious to get going,” he said. “We add to our current roster’s talent and our junior class will take the experience they’ve gained and put it to good use. As a coaching staff we will not waste a day getting these young men ready.”