Hononegah Indians bested by Auburn in an offensive drought, 72-40

Auburn ran out in transition, led by 24 piece from Amir Danforth, after Hononegah shot 24.5% from the field. 

Hononegah came up short Wednesday night in a loss to the Auburn Knights.

Auburn’s Mikwan Marshall racked up an impressive four steals, and the team as a whole had seven in an impressive defensive performance that stifled the Indians

When asked about tonight  Hononegah Head Coach Tom Schmidt said, “they guarded very well, and we didn’t respond real well to that.”

“I feel like it's important to understand why it happened,” he said. “Some of it may be X’s and O’s stuff we can do a little differently, but a lot of it is just making sure we’re prepared and ready to compete, and when you face a little adversity, we need some guys to be ready and stop the bleeding.”

The game started out going Auburn’s way with an 8-0 run and some big buckets from Champ Parker, and every time Hononegah would start to rally behind a huge three-pointer or a tough foul sending them to the line, it would fizzle out, and Auburn would respond by continuing to pressure the rim.

The second half was no different, as after being up 37-20 at half, they scored another 22 points in the third while holding Hononegah to 13 before closing with a win in the fourth.

Hononegah struggled physically on the boards and offensively really couldn’t get going against the Auburn defense, but with a game against Huntley on Saturday, the team has a chance at a get-right.

Auburn meanwhile travels to Belvidere North on Friday with momentum in their favor, as they continue to try to fight for the conference title.

Hononegah falls to a 7-3 record in conference, while Auburn improves to 7-2 after the win.

Both teams next week face the Guilford Vikings in two matchups that will shape the final NIC-10 standings.