Boys No. 6 seed in hoops regional

• Alex Herink puts up a left-handed shot

Hudson’s Alex Herink puts up a left-handed shot for two of his team-high 15 points in the Raiders’ 55-43 win over Eau Claire North last Thursday at the high school. Photo by Bob Burrows

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Following a 55-43 victory over Eau Claire North last Thursday to improve to 12-8 overall, the Hudson boys’ basketball team was given the No. 6 seed in the 14-team regional bracket and will open the playoffs at No. 3 Chippewa Falls next Friday, March 2, in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal.

The Raiders shook a stubborn Eau Claire North team last Thursday and pulled away in the second half and post a 12-point victory. Hudson’s lead was 26-23 at the break before widening to 40-31 at the end of three.

Alex Herink and Max Hawksford finished with 15 points each in the win while Kellen Pearson contributed 13. Stef Smith added six and Jordan Delao scored four while Ethan Stanchik finished with two.

Saturday, in a nonconference game at home against Stillwater, the Raiders held the Ponies to single digit scoring in each of the first three quarter but struggled to put points on the board themselves in a 44-34 loss.

Stillwater led 7-5 at the end of one and 14-13 at halftime before pulling away with a 16-7 third quarter run.

Herink was the only Raider in double figures with 16 points while Pearson and Stanchik finished with six each. Smith scored four in the loss while Hawksford finished with two.

The Raiders will wrap up the regular season at Chippewa Falls this Friday, Feb. 24, before a rematch with the Cardinals in next Friday’s regional semifinal.

Tags: sports, basketball, raiders, prep