GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/2sdR5CA
It’s a good time to be part of Cardinal Huskies athletics.
Thanks to a 74-52 victory over Berkshire, the Huskies swept their crosstown rivals.
Add in the football team’s 54-7 route over Berkshire to claim the Kinsman Cup, and the Huskies have been on a roll.
“I’m very proud of how we played tonight,” said Cardinal senior Hayden Cummins. “This was a great team win.”
“It feels good,” said Huskies’ senior Robbie Muhl. “This is the first time we’ve beat them twice in a row in a long time.”
“This win will make it a lot easier the rest of the season,” Muhl said.
For the second time this season against the Badgers, Cardinal relied on a methodical team effort, with multiple players contributing to the team’s victory.
“We take turns with who has the hot hand,” said Cardinal head coach Jon Cummins. “They do a good job finding the guys who are open.”
“Teamwork came into play and no one played selfish tonight and it showed,” said Hayden Cummins.
Berkshire held it’s own against the Huskies, but once Cardinal got into their zone defense, they took control of the game.
“They want to do a lot of one-on-one and some weave up top to get some good matchups,” said Cummins. “That’s when we went back into the zone and forced them to shoot threes.”
The move into the zone defense helped out the Huskies, who had to do without the services of Muhl, who picked up three quick fouls to start the game.
Unlike prior game against Berkshire, Muhl toned down his aggressiveness in the second half and finished the night with 13 points.
With Muhl on the bench, Parker Kosh stepped up his game.
Kosh, who finished with a game-high 19 points, had the hot hand – from outside the arc and inside the paint. In the first half, he was keeping his team in the game with his offensive output.
Heading into halftime up 33-25, the Huskies were controlling the boards and limiting turnovers.
As the third quarter progressed, Cardinal opened up its offense and controlled the paint.
Cummins, Rob Bruncak and Muhl took control of the lane. With each rebound they hauled in, they gave their team a second chance to score or stopped a Berkshire opportunity.
The Badgers simply had no answer to the Huskies inside game.
Cardinal’s experienced team was too much to handle for Berkshire.
“Our team as a whole works really well together,” said Hayden Cummins. “We know each other our whole lives and work really well together.”
The win is a nice boost for a program that struggled against the Badgers in past seasons, but now enjoyed the experience of sweeping their rivals.
“We went through a stint where we lost to them six times in a row, then we sweep them,” said Jon Cummins.
Besides Kosh’s 19 points, Muhl added 13 and Matt Carney scored 10 points.
Sam Roach and Tim Pillot each scored 17 for the Badgers.