Saturday, January 23, 1999

Chieftains net 4th straight win at New Riegel

By Pat Magers
Sports Writer

NEW RIEGEL - It began innocently enough. The New Riegel public address man, while announcing starting lineups, inadvertently introduced Hopewell-Loudon's Ryan Martinez twice Friday night.

That was just the first of several occasions the Chieftain senior had the Blue Jackets seeing double. Martinez scored 18 points and had five assists, including two key passes down the stretch as H-L held off pesky New Riegel 64-61.

It was the fourth straight win for the Chieftains, who opened the year with six straight losses. They are 3-2 in Midland Athletic League play. Meanwhile, New Riegel suffered its eighth loss in 11 tries and stands 1-4 in the league.

Hopewell-Loudon, which had led by as many as 13 in the third quarter, owned a 56-44 advantage with 4:35 to play. But New Riegel had one last challenge left in it.

Jason Humphrey started a 9-0 run, one which developed from three straight H-L turnovers, with a 3-point goal. Brett Hammer, who, at 5-foot-6, was the shortest player on the floor, added a pair of inside hoops and then Dustin Humphrey's drive resulted in a basket.

''We went to, I guess you'd call it a 1-4,'' New Riegel coach Rick DeMoss said. ''We had one big guy, well, big for us, and four guards. We were getting some results with that press we had in the fourth quarter. Maybe I should have gone to it earlier although, as hard as our kids were playing anyway, I don't know if we could keep something like that up for a whole game.''

Martinez eventually provided a solution for the Chieftains - he beat the press with the dribble instead of the pass.

''We had a timeout and I told Marty, 'Quit trying to pass through that press and start doing what you do best,''' H-L coach Steve Adelsperger said. ''That approach might not be in any coach's textbook, but he's so quick, he was able to get through and find the open man.''

Andy Hiser benefited twice and Martinez zipped passes to him for layups. The second of those came right after a Jason Humphrey 3-pointer that had trimmed the margin to 61-59 with 1:14 to go.

Martinez hit a foul shot, but Hammer answered with a 10-foot jumper to make it 64-61 with 36 seconds left. Neil Hohman was unable to get either of two free throws to fall, meaning New Riegel had one last possession to tie. But the Chieftains were able to trap Jason Humphrey in the corner as time expired.

''It was ugly, but it was a win,'' Adelsperger said. ''We did things well in spurts. We'd get up 10-or-11 points and then we'd let them back into it with turnovers and by not finding their shooters.

''Turnover-wise, this is very disappointing,'' he said of his team's 29 miscues. ''I don't know how you can win with 29 turnovers, but if you can, it's going to be ugly.''

Hohman, who, like Martinez, had a pair of 3-point goals, added 14 points for the Chieftains. Hiser came off the bench to score 12 and Rob Herman pitched in five.

The New Riegel attack was balanced as well. Cory Gillig overcame a slow start to knock down 18 points for the Blue Jackets. Hammer added 17 points and six assists and Jason Humphrey tossed in 11.

''We did a lot of positive things, but it's still a loss,'' DeMoss said. ''Our kids are playing so doggone hard, you almost have to feel sorry when they keep coming up a little short like this.

''We keep telling them that, if you keep playing hard, good things eventuallyare going to happen,'' he said. ''But sometimes, you wonder when. I just wish there was something I could magically do to get us over the hump.''

These days, it appears Hopewell-Loudon may well have reached that point, which makes the future all the more appealing.