HOOPS: Linden vs. Hartland

**Vonn Jones drains a 3-pointer from the corner**
** Matt Poches floats in 2 of his 25 points**
**Jake Warner powers his way up for 2 points**

**Jones and Poches look to lead Hartland to a big season**

Hartland- This year Hartland's football team put together a season that will go down in history as the school's best, and now the Eagles are focused to put together a similar run on the hardwood, and that run got off to a good start as Hartland blasted Linden 84-55 in the season opener.

Vonn Jones and Matt Poches went right to work from the opening tip to give Hartland a quick 11-2 lead. Poches, a 6-4 sophomore, scored 14 of Hartland's first 24 points as the Eagles led 27-8 after one quarter of play. Jones finished the first quarter with 5 points, 5 assist, and 4 steals.

Hartland spent the rest of the game preparing the team for the long season by splitting time equally with all 15 players. At times Hartland had all five players from the end of their bench in the game and this allowed Linden to only trail 40-22 at halftime as Linden stayed with their starters.

In the third quarter the starting unit played the first five minutes and went on a 16-0 run to go up 70-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

BREAKDOWN: Hartland will be strong this year with 9 veteran seniors and their super sophomore. They are still missing 6-9 Luke Lamond who is coming off an injury and won't be cleared to play until January 2nd. Hartland has a different mind set this season, and expect to see the Eagles play a faster full court pace and try to run on every possession.

PLAYER OF GAME: Matt Poches, Hartland, 6-4 wing- the 2011 product finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 steals. He scored early and often and Jones rewarded him for running the floor hard. Even with a game high 25 points, Poches logged less than 20 minutes of clock due to the lop sided score.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Vonn Jones, Hartland, 5-11 PG- Hartland goes and Jones goes. For the past two years Jones has had to carry the scoring load but now with more developed weapons around him he can focus on being a true point guard. Jones deferred to his teammates all night long and came up just short of a triple double in limited minutes, 10 points, 11 assist, and 8 steals. He is still the top point guard in the class of 2009.

Jon Stevens, Hartland, 6-5 fwd- Stevens is noticeably stronger and does all the little things a team needs to win. He won't have a problem holding down the paint till 6-9 Lamond returns and then he can return to his natural forward position. Stevens contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Zach Kaul, Hartland, 5-9 PG- Kaul is a starter and comes to Hartland after moving from California, he brings the team an energetic ball handler that will allow Jones to slide over to the wing at times. Kaul plays with a different type of flavor, maybe it has to do with the Cali sun?

Chris Cagle, Hartland, 6-1 wing- Cagle struggled with his shot but contributed in other ways. He ran the floor well, played hard defensively, and fed his teammates with some nice passes.

Jake Warner, Hartland, 6-2 fwd- a 6-2/215 pound bruiser from the football team that plays with the same mentality on the hardwood. Warner comes off of the bench and gives Hartland a physical presence. He can also put the ball on the floor as well as score.