HCHS boys snap shooting slump, end five-game slide

 HARLAN (Jan. 29) -- Basketball is a lot easier game when the ball starts falling through the net.
 The Harlan Community boys, plagued by cold shooting during its recent five-game losing streak, finally saw the lid come off the rim here Friday in a 69-51 Senior Night win over Creston.
 Trailing 13-3 at the 2:43 mark of the first quarter, the Cyclones responded with a 15-2 run, led 28-23 at the half and outscored the Panthers 24-9 in an impressive third quarter to take control.
 Paced by Connor Frame’s 25 points and seven rebounds, HCHS shot 54.5 percent from the field (24-of-44), made 8-of-20 three-pointers and also hit 13-of-17 free throws.
 The Cyclones also held Creston to a combined 17 points during the second and third quarters using a diamond-and-one defense on Panther guard Colby Burg.
 One night after losing a 53-52 heartbreaker at Denison, HCHS got back on the winning track and improved to 6-8 overall and 6-3 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference. Creston fell to 7-6 overall and 5-3 in league games.
 “We’ve been down before... and we just kept plugging away,” said sophomore point guard Brad Curren, who totaled 15 points, five assists and four steals. “We’ve been hungry for a win and we got it.”
 Frame, who outscored the Panthers by himself with 13 third-quarter points, pointed to better shot selection as a key.
 “I think we were just taking better shots. We weren’t forcing anything up,” he said.
 The Cyclones won the game without junior post man Will McLaughlin, who sprained an ankle Thursday night. However, senior guard Michael Erlemeier - out since early December with a broken fibula - returned to action this week and scored eight points in a starting role Friday.
 Erlemeier’s two three-pointers early in the third quarter helped spark a 16-4 run that increased the Cyclones’ five-point halftime lead to 44-27.
 “It’s great to have Erlemeier back,” said HCHS head coach Mitch Osborn. “He’s probably 60 percent, but he hit two huge threes at the beginning of the third quarter.
 “Connor Frame, what do you say? He’s athletic and he was taking good shots.”
 During a legendary career with more than 700 wins at HCHS, Pomeroy-Palmer and Elk Horn-Kimballton, Osborn can’t recall for sure if he’s ever had a team lose five straight games. It’s quite possible that it’s never happened.
 All he cares about now is that this streak is over.
 “We’ve had some very close (losses) and (Thursday) night was another one, but it was great to get a win,” Osborn said.
 “These kids have been doing a great job and keep working and we’ve had some bad luck go our way, but you’ve just got to keep fighting... Five in a row was pretty tough to handle, especially (Thursday) night.”
 Creston, which is playing without two of its best players in injured guards Brance Baker and Cael Kralik, opened the game with a 13-3 run as Cole Strider, Burg and Kyle Strider all hit treys.
 The Cyclones called a quick timeout, stuck with their junk defense on Burg and proceeded to outscore the Panthers 49-19 over the next 18:43.
 Harlan’s lead grew as high as 62-37 on Isaiah Ahrenholtz’s fourth-quarter three.
 “We just needed to work on our rotations on defense,” Curren said of the team’s early deficit. “We were giving some open shots that they shouldn’t have been getting. We fixed that up and played pretty good defense.”
 Osborn thought the team looked tired from the night before when the game began, but he saw the energy level rise following an early timeout.
 Frame connected on 4-of-8 three-pointers, including one right at the end of the third quarter. Aidan Hall was finishing on drives to the basket and made 6-of-8 shots on his way to 13 points, seven boards and four steals. Curren (5-of-6) scored three layups off turnovers and Brayton Schechinger scored on an athletic tip-in with :01 left in the first half.
 Osborn was also pleased with the effort of Ahrenholtz, who had five points and five boards.
 “He played terrific (Thursday) and tonight he was tough inside,” Osborn said.
 “We just stayed with it and stayed pretty intense and I’m very proud of our guys. We’ve had guys step up... Aidan Hall offensively was terrific. What we were trying to do is just see where the mismatches were and isolate guys. Brad Curren - that was a complete game as a point guard. He was really really good.”
 HCHS finished the night with just five turnovers and was also whistled for only five fouls. Creston, led by Kaden Briggs’ 15 points, had 14 turnovers and 14 fouls. The Panthers shot 48 percent from the field but got to the free throw line just four times, making one.
Senior Night:
 Prior to the game, HCHS honored its three senior basketball players - Ahrenholtz, Erlemeier and Devin Kearney - as well as senior manager Tyler Mumm, along with their parents.
 The Cyclones will now try to start a winning streak with three games on the docket this week. Greene County visited Harlan on Monday night and HCHS will play at Kuemper Catholic Tuesday night before hosting Lewis Central on Friday.
 “There’s not a night off, so you’ve just got to battle the whole 32 minutes,” Osborn said.