GENOA — Rockford Lutheran senior Jacob Koehler has made the kind of improvements that his coach Devin Smith knew would make him into a formidable force on the basketball court.
Koehler, a 6-foot-2 forward, proved his worth down the stretch against Genoa-Kingston on Friday when he hit 3-of-4 free throws to help Lutheran win 46-39 in Big Northern West Conference action.
Senior guard Eric Widstrom led the Crusaders with 11 points, while Koehler had eight.
“As a leader, he (Koehler) has continued to step it up each and every week throughout this season,” Smith said. “Last year, he didn’t get the repetitions that he was hoping for. In facing the adversity, it has helped him grow as a person and as an athlete. Now, when there are tough situations, he is a little more composed and tonight he demonstrated that.”
The Crusaders, as a team, remained composed as they bounced back from a 57-44 loss against Winnebago on Monday. That contest became a two-day affair when play was stopped in the third quarter because of facility issues on last Saturday.
“This is a big win after coming off a tough loss to Winnebago under weird circumstances,” Koehler said. “To come back and get another win against a good team in the Big Northern is great for us.”
The Crusaders (10-4, 3-1) got the victory against the Cogs, who played without two starters. The two starters were among five seniors that were suspended for disciplinary reasons.
“It was a big-time loss for us, but I am proud of the fact that our team regrouped,” Genoa-Kingston coach Corey Jenkins said. “We had a lot of our juniors come in and battled.”
The Cogs (8-8, 1-3) cut a seven-point deficit to four points at 41-37 on junior Ethan Menges’ basket with 2.54 left.
“There guard play is so good,” Smith said. “Usually when we go on the road against good guard play, we struggled because it’s tough to get open looks because they are so good defensively on the perimeter. Sometimes, it’s tough for us to get some scores on the inside.”
The Cogs cut the lead to four again at 43-39 in the final minute, but wouldn’t get any closer.
Scott Suchy led Genoa with 16 points, while Nick Lopez had 10.
- Brenda Young, rrstar.com
