Chieftains fall prey to illness and injury

By Ginna Young

Lake Holcombe is plagued with the sickness that is making its way through the area, which leads to some missed opportunities.

Jan. 28 vs. Thorp non-conference (W 56-45)

The Chieftains hosted Thorp to start the week, stepping out of the East Lakeland Conference, and with illness and in - juries, were only able to field five players.

"There were four lead changes in the first half," said coach Dave Engel. "I was happy to see us end the last two minutes on an 8-2 run. This gave us momentum that we carried into the second half." Thanks to sophomore Emmit Johnson and senior Brian Strzok, the two were able to attack oensively and get Thorp in foul trouble, while junior Brody Miller played out of his normal position defensively. "Throughout the game, he found ways to execute and made good game time adjustments," said Engel. Meanwhile, freshman Kyle Hiedtke hit some key free throws to close the game out, giving the Chieftains a 56-45 win. Engel also tips his hat to senior Trent Lee, who was the "X Factor" in the game.

"His intensity and execution is hard to compare to any ef - forts I have in recent memory," said Engel.

Johnson closed the night with 29 points, while Strzok had 18 points, followed by Heidtke, with 7, and Miller, with 2.

Jan. 30 vs. Winter conference (L 93-86)

A couple says later, the Chieftains were in action at Winter, but the illness and injury list was still an issue.

'This situation gave us a chance to see a glimpse of our fu - ture with three freshmen and two sophomores playing the majority of the minutes," said Engel.

With the decreased bench, Lake Holcombe conceded the game, 93-86. "Despite the loss, I'm happy to see that the players stepped up and played to the best of their abilities," said Engel. "As a coach, you can't ask for more in situations such as this. Johnson scored a career high 39 points and added 7 steals, while sophomore Conner Kane had limited time, because of an ankle injury suered the week before, contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds. Heidtke also came up big, with 17 points.

"Ultimately, in the end, there just wasn't enough gas in the tank," said Engel.

Jan. 31 vs. Birchwood conference (L 76-56)

With no time to rest, the Chieftains were back at home, hosting Birchwood.

"We came out cold and still under the weather," said Engel. Turnovers played a big role in the 76-56 loss, but to their credit, Lake Holcombe didn't give up. "We fought back to within four points, with a couple min - utes left in the first half, but we were unable to close the gap," said Engel. Johnson again led, with 23 points, while Kane added 16 and Strzok had 9. Heidtke contributed 5 points on the night and Miller chipped in with 2.

Lake Holcombe is now 7-9 on the season and 4-6 in league play.