The Cardinal Huskies boys’ basketball team’s losing streak is no more. The Huskies ended a five-game slide when they prevailed 49-47 against Chalker last Saturday evening in Middlefield.
“It is good to say the least,” said Coach Kyle Deckerd. “It is always good to win. We had a losing streak there but winning one at home is definitely good. Hopefully, we can build this into something more moving forward. These guys are learning so I am definitely proud of them.”
Holding a 40-28 lead at the beginning of the fourth period, the Huskies (3-10, 0-5) outscored Chalker by a 7-6 margin to take an 11-point lead in the middle of the final quarter. Sophomore guard Tanner Kelson kept Chalker alive by scoring six straight points.
In the final few minutes, Cardinal’s double-digit lead dwindled to just one point when its offense stalled. Senior guard Troy Domen, who had sparked the Huskies’ offense in the previous three quarters, cooled off and only shot three-of-eight from the floor in the fourth period.
After Chalker trimmed the lead to 48-41, Domen was given a technical foul for flopping, allowing Chalker to shoot a pair of free throws and keep possession with 1:29 remaining in regulation. Senior guard Andrew Kirkland drained both foul shots.
“They called two offensive screens that I thought were pretty set,” the Cardinal senior said. “I thought I went into those screens telling myself to set myself and the referees did not think so. It is what it is, and I will just have to think about that these next couple of games.”
Kirkland made another shot, cutting the Huskies’ advantage to 48-45 and the Wildcats continued storming back when Kirkland knocked down another pair of free throws with 30.1 seconds left.
On Cardinal’s next possession, Kelson committed a hard foul on junior guard Cal Cimenello and was whistled for a flagrant foul. The Huskies’ junior split a pair of free throws and Cardinal kept possession and had a chance to ice the game when Domen was fouled but he missed both free throws, giving Chalker a chance to tie the game on the final possession.
Chalker went to junior forward Daniel Kellar in the post, but he missed the game-tying fadeaway jump shot. Cimenello grabbed the rebound and held on to the ball until time ran out and Cardinal’s losing streak was finally over.
“I would say every time Troy would make those free throws,” Cardinal’s first-year coach said. “On Saturday, they just bounced out and he didn’t seal it, but we played a good enough possession to seal the win.”
Deckerd acknowledged the Huskies’ offense struggled in the fourth quarter, only shooting four-of-14. According to him, with Domen struggling, it made Cardinal’s life difficult on the offensive end.
“When we are up a lot the fourth quarters definitely hurt us because we are not mentally there,” noted Domen. “We do not have enough varsity experience when we are winning games because we normally come from behind, but we just need to learn and hopefully in a year’s time this will definitely help.”
Cardinal held the lead throughout the game, taking an 11-7 advantage in the first period and Domen kept the Huskies in front by scoring nine straight points at the end of the second quarter, giving them a 24-17 advantage.
Domen continued igniting Cardinal’s offense in the third quarter and when he made a basket to stretch the Huskies’ lead to 33-25 in the middle of the period, it marked his 1,205th career point, making him the new record holder for most points scored in a varsity career in school history.
“It means a lot,” Domen said. “Four years ago, I only scored 200 points in a season and now I am averaging 400 points a season. It is definitely humbling. I told myself not to think of it and just the play the game of basketball and it will come to me. That was my gameplan for the day.”
2023 Cardinal graduate Jake Bean previously set the school mark for most points in school history with 1,204 last season, but that benchmark stood for less than a year.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Domen said of the school record being broken in consecutive seasons. “It is good for Cardinal to see people’s name on the record board from last year to this year.”
He paced the Huskies with 26 points, five rebounds and six assists in Cardinal’s victory.
“Just to catch the last part of Troy’s career is pretty awesome,” Deckerd said. “He is a great kid and an extremely hard worker. He’ll have more than three or four records on that board after this year and it is good for the kids coming up.”
Following a road game against Rootstown on Tuesday evening, the Huskies will host CVC Valley Division rival Wickliffe on Friday night at 7 p.m.
