BY MIKE KOSIK
Staff Writer
A second half surge sealed the 67-53 win for the Huskies, as Holdingford kept it close until the end in a non-conference match-up at Albany.
The teams met Dec. 28 in a late afternoon game.
The Huskers held the lead most of the time in the first half, but not by much.
"Holdingford played very well with a ton of energy in their five-out motion offense. We had difficulty guarding a few of their guys off the ball with their slashing action," Albany coach Cory Schlagel said.
Holdingford went up 11-6 at 14:50 on a Hunter Welle three, but Adam Winkels responded with two back-to-back scores (one a three) to tie at 11.
The Huskers went up by two (13-11) after Christian Willoughby sank a pair of free throws.
Nolan Rueter scored the next six points for Albany on two threes for a 17-13 Albany lead.
Three baskets later by Willoughby and Jake Ethen (2) erased that lead and put the Huskers back up on top 20-17.
Holdingford would lead one more time by three (24-21) with about five and a half minutes left in the half.
Jordan Schiffler's and Isaac Nett's two pointers put the Huskies up by one. Albany never trailed after that, but it stayed close, and when the half ended Albany held a 32-30 edge.
The Huskies came out in the second half and on a 9-2 run were up by nine at 41-32. Six of those nine came on threes by Rueter to start the half and a three a little later by Alex Seiler.
Albany led in that eight to 10 point range until Schiffler hit a three at 3:49 to put his team up by 13 at 60-47.
The Huskies led by as many as 17 (65-48) with just a little over two minutes left.
"We try to tell our guys that each night is different and we need bench players and starters to be ready for whatever situation is thrown at us," Schlagel said.
He added that those coming off the bench have "done a good job providing a spark when called up on this year and have helped turn momentum in many games. We need guys to keep understanding how their skills can help us be competitive every night we play regardless if they are a starter or coming off the bench."
Albany had four in double figures - Rueter 14, Nett 13, Hahn 11 and Schiffler 10.
Holdingford's Wolter scored 12 and Ethen 10.
Holdingford: Jacob Wolter 12, Jake Ethen 10, Tyler Huls 9, Tyson Patrick 7, Christian Willoughby 8, Hunter Welle 4, Brendon Yamry 3.
Albany:Nolan Rueter 14, Isaac Nett 13, Andrew Hahn 11, Jordan Schiffler 10 (7 assists, 4 steals), Alex Seiler 9, Adam Winkels 7, Mitchell Reber 3, Ethan Navrati (7 rebounds).