Emmitt Huhn got good position on the left block, caught and finished strong at the rim to score the game-winning basket for St. Mary’s Springs on Tuesday night.
Huhn’s bucket gave the Ledgers a 63-61 nonconference win in the opening game of the season.
The play felt like it was a long time coming for the 6-foot-7 senior, who had to play JV last year after being deemed ineligible to compete in varsity sports by the WIAA following his transfer from Plymouth.
“It was a really long year last year, but it definitely paid off,” Huhn said. “We’ve got a good group of guys, who are ready to work and ready to have a good year.”
Huhn contended with foul trouble the entire second half but was still able to lead Springs (1-0) with 14 points. He played the final few minutes with four fouls.
Teammate Ben Anderson said Huhn’s ability to still play his game while avoiding fouling out was important during crunch time.
“At the end of the game, he was able to be strong, be physical but without fouling, contest shots well and ended up making enough plays to win the game,” Anderson said.
New Holstein (0-1) turned it on during the second half, erasing an 8-point halftime deficit. The Huskies tied the game with about 18 seconds left when freshman Owen Birschbach scored and got fouled. He made the free throw.
Springs coach Kyle Krueger took a timeout with about 10 seconds left and drew up a play that had already been successful earlier in the game.
The ball ended up in the hands of senior Noah Moul in the left corner with options to pass to either Anderson at the 3-point line or dump it down to Huhn. Moul chose the later.
“[Moul] has been dominant for us for basically four years,” Anderson said. “We trust him that when he has the ball in his hands, he’s going to make a big play and he has definitely grown in his passing.
“To have a physical, strong guy still be able to knock down shots and make good passes in big-time moments is definitely going to be big for us going forward.”
New Holstein had to stick close to Anderson, who had already made three 3s in the game and had scored 13 points.
Two of those triples came from the left corner in the second half. Anderson made the shots, turned to the Springs bench and the home crowd and yelled to fire them up.
“It was kind of after they went on a great run there,” Anderson said. “They’re a really good team. Just the opportunity to make a big shot in a big situation, get a celebration and make plays so that, not only myself, but the rest of the guys on the court know that there’s energy in the gym.”
Moul joined Anderson and Huhn in double-figures in addition to the game-winning assist. Moul’s ability to play at the perimeter was key to help isolate Huhn in the post.
“With Noah scoring so much last year, he was our leading scorer, coming back this year he’s going to attract so much attention,” Huhn said. “It really just makes our offense a lot better because there’s more options.”
Springs was excellent from the free throw line, shooting 9-for-12. Junior Tyler Hoffmann was 3-for-3 from the line, was aggressive with the ball in his hands and finished with 8 points. He also came in on a number of key defensive possessions in the final minutes.
Birschbach’s dynamic game caused the Ledgers problems in the second half. The freshman finished with a game-high 27 points in his varsity debut.
PHOTO GALLERY: New Holstein at Springs boys basketball - 11/26/2024
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