MINOOKA — Jake Hogen had been in a funk as of late.
The senior guard for the Minooka Indians boys basketball team had had two rough outings against Southwest Prairie Conference foes Plainfield North and Romeoville, and only had four points entering the fourth quarter in Friday night's contest against Plainfield South.
Then, it all changed for the senior. With his team down four, Hogen knocked down a huge three pointer from the left corner, putting the Indians up seven with four minutes to go in the game.
"I finally was able to get one to fall," Hogen said of the three pointer. "I felt confident about the shots I was taking in the first half, but they weren't just falling. It was just frustrating."
That three helped lead Minooka to a 53-42 victory Friday night, improving their record to 7-2 with a 3-0 conference record to go with it.
Hogen scored three more points down the stretch, all on free throws, to finish with ten points on the evening. He was one of three Indians to score in double digits Friday night along with fellow seniors Darrin Myers and Adam Holstine.
"Once you get one to fall, you start feeling a lot more confident about yourself," Hogen said. "I just have to go to the rim more and not settle as much. Hopefully that'll get my game back up."
While Hogen finished strong for Minooka, another struggling senior started off the game on fire. Guard Darrin Myers hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter, giving the Indians a quick 10-5 advantage. Myers finished with a team-high 12 points on the night.
"We were setting screens, and we knew what we wanted to run offensively early on," Myers said. "Everyone was getting open and fortunately we were hitting shots, including myself."
Despite Myers and Hogen playing strong, neither the Indians or Cougars could take advantage, as turnovers and fouls piled up for both teams. In the third quarter, both teams combined to score 12 points, with both teams only scoring 6 a piece.
Still, the Indians were able to persevere in the final frame, outscoring Plainfield 14-9 to pull away with the 53-42 win. Despite it not being pretty, Minooka coach Scott Tanaka will take the win.
"I thought we really played bad tonight, but we still won," Tanaka said. "We have to go back to the drawing board. Luckily for us, were going back with a win, but we have a big Hinsdale South tournament coming up that we have to look forward to."
