by Rob Barrone

Correspondent

Akron — After 12 games, the Hudson boys basketball team had yet to win on the road.

The Explorers also had yet to win back-to-back games.

No more.

Hudson improved to 4-9 on the season with a 63-54 victory over the Garfield Rams in Akron.

The Explorers have won two straight after posting a 53-49 victory the previous week.

“This definitely feels good,” Hudson head coach Jeff Brink said. “We haven’t been able to get over that hump. I think it shows where the team is heading to finally get one of those wins.”

Brink hopes this is a start of a longer string of wins as the Explorers head toward the postseason. Hudson, which was 3-2 as of press time, will be at home for five of the final six games.

The Explorers put together what could be their best four quarters of the season with the exception of one stretch where Garfield dominated.

That stretch actually began late in the first half after the Rams built a 31-21 edge.

Garfield held Hudson scoreless for the final 2 minutes, 22 seconds of the half, while scoring three points to make it 31-24. The Rams continued their strong play with a 12-0 run early in the third quarter to take a 36-31 advantage.

Spearheading that spurt was Garfield post Kevin Brewton.

The 6-foot-4 junior grabbed every rebound there was on the offensive glass, garnering seven offensive caroms and nine total rebounds in the third quarter alone. Brewton finished with a game-high 15 boards and leading the Rams to a huge 42-19 edge on the glass.

Brewton, who led the Rams with 23 points, had four putbacks in that 12-0 run, added a fifth putback later in the quarter and went 2-of-3 at the line in the period on fouls on put-back attempts.

With Brewton dominating offensively and Hudson suffering through an 0-for-10 streak from the field, it looked bad for the Explorers.

“They [the Rams] got a lot of second-chance buckets and we had to blow a couple time-outs to make adjustments,” Brink said. “But the guys off the bench sparked us.”

While some bench players were big in the rally, starting guard Richie Piekarski was huge.

The 6-foot-3 senior took control with 19 of his game high 25 points in the contest’s next 11 minutes. Piekarski started the comeback ending the 15-0 run with a driving score at the 4:03 mark.

Thirty five seconds later, he tacked on a three-point play in the paint off an assist from reserve guard Steve Nagy and the score was knotted at 36-36. Nagy, a sophomore, then scored his first varsity points to regain the lead. 

Minutes later, Clay Lease (10 points and four rebounds) gave Hudson the lead for good (40-39 with 55 seconds to play in the third) when he scored on a drive into the lane.

Piekarski added 12 points in the fourth quarter and was 9-of-9 from the free throw line during the game. Hudson finished 15-of-16 from the charity stripe. Garfield, on the other hand, was 4-of-14.

The Explorers scored a season-high 21 points in the first period. Gabe Adams ignited the offense with eight points in the first 3:15 of the stanza.

Hudson’s defense took control in the second quarter as Piekarski recorded four of his career-high eight steals in the period.

The Explorers also took care of the basketball as they finished with just six turnovers. The Rams committed 14 miscues.

“This was a good team win,” Brink said. “We had contributions top to bottom.”

Hudson was scheduled to visit Streetsboro Feb. 6. Results were not available at press time.

The Explorers are set to entertain Northeast Ohio Conference River Division rival Solon Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3914