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Sirard goes for 35 points, Houghton defeats Hancock

Houghton’s Brad Sirard dribbles up the court as Hancock’s Joe Watson defends Thursday, in Hancock. (Eden Laase/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — If Brad Sirard had to guess, he says he probably shoots 20 3-pointers a day.  

But after the sophomore drained seven shots from beyond the arc in Houghton’s 64-31 thrashing of Hancock on Thursday, that small of a number seems hard to believe.  

Especially considering Sirard looked comfortable pulling up from just about anywhere, even with hands in his face. He finished with 35 points, leading all scorers, and added 13 rebounds to the stat sheet for a double-double.  

“I’ve told him, ‘You have the green light at any time. Don’t second-guess yourself. Once you have your feet set, let it go,’ “ Houghton head coach Jared Lawson said.  

Sirard took his coach’s words to heart from the opening tip until the final buzzer. He started the Gremlins off with nine-straight points on their first three possessions, and from there Houghton essentially coasted.  

“I think it shocked us more than anything,” Hancock’s head coach Matt Strong said. “Our game plan was just don’t let George (Butvilas) or Brad (Sirard) get off shots, and we didn’t do that.  

“You get blitzed early with a bunch of 3s and now you’re down 21-4 (at the end of the first), and now you are trying to game plan instead of worrying about what we were supposed to do from the start.” 

Hancock kept Butvilas relatively in check — he finished with 11 points — but the Gremlins didn’t need much scoring from anyone else, as Sirard tallied nearly half their points.  

The sophomore worked hard in the offseason, Lawson said, and his coach has noticed a difference.

“His ball handling has improved and he has become stronger,” Lawson said. “He has increased his range on the 3-pointer, which is great to see because now teams are hedging him out and pushing him to 22, 24 feet out. Now he has that range.

“His performance today was great to see. He was able to get into a flow right away, and that is such a key in a rivalry game. We were able to carry that momentum through the game and Brad was a big reason for that.”

Houghton also got first-quarter 3s from Sam Keskimaki and Butvilas. Fifteen of the Gremlins’ points in the period came from long distance, something that surprised Lawson. When Sirard said he doesn’t shoot many 3s in practice, that is because no one really does. 

“We are not a team looking to shoot a lot of 3s, but if it is in the flow, we will to go with it,” Lawson said. I just want to see good flow going on offense, and today we had that.” 

Hancock attempted to apply a zone pressure to the Gremlins, sticking with it for most of the game. For a period in the third quarter, the team had some success, going on an 11-0 run, but by that point, things were already out of hand.  

After Sirard and the Gremlins jumped out to a 33-10 lead at the half, there wasn’t much the Bulldogs could do. Instead, Strong hopes they remember this game and use it as a learning experience.  

“We did not show up ready to play right away,” he said. “I would have never expected that. But we have to come focused. We have to take what we learn in practice and come out and execute during the games.” 

The Gremlins breezed past the Bulldogs, but they have things to learn as well. Lawson was happy to see his team come across a zone because it is a common defensive scheme in the West-PAC. 

“We are going to see zone a lot more in the future,” he said. “We had times tonight where we would get passes going and then one guy would take a dribble out and the whole zone would just reset. We talked about keeping the ball moving, because even if there aren’t any openings at first, eventually something will happen.”

Next up Houghton (2-2, 1-0) hosts West Iron on Monday at 7:15 p.m. for a conference game, and Hancock (1-2, 0-1) hits the road for a nonconference matchup with Jeffers at 7:20 p.m. on the same day.  

– – –

Houghton 21 12 19 12 — 64

Hancock 4 6 13 8 — 31

Houghton — Keskimaki 15, Butvilas 11, Majlessi 1, Sirard 35, Cooper 2. F: 6. Fouled out: None. Free throws: 8-11. 3-point field goals: Keskimaki 2, Butvilas 1, Sirard 7. 

Hancock — Watson 11, Sintkowski 6, Raasio 6, Anderson 7, Bal 2. F: 11. Fouled out: None. Free throws: 8-12. 3-point field goals: Watson, Sintkowski 2, Anderson. 

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