Nearing the century mark

So much for any offensive rust after 17 days off.

The Grafton High School boys’ basketball team came back on fire at Hartford last Friday, earning a 94-89 victory in overtime.

Forward J.P. Benzschawel scored 21 points and guard Alex Huibregtse had 18. Guard Jaden Polack and forward Ben Wilkin each scored 16 and guard Bryson Clague scored 11.

“It was one of those games where a lot of guys got going and the looks were there for us,” coach Damon James said.

The Black Hawks went 10-for-20 on three-pointers, including Wilkin going 4-for-6.

They shot 30-for-43 on two-pointers.

With the game tied at 83-83 late in regulation, James drew up a play but a deep pass was tipped away. The Orioles fired off a half-court shot and missed, sending the game into overtime.

That’s when the Hawks finally took over.

“We made some basketball plays,” James said.

“We had some key stops, a lot of key offensive rebounds, which ended up being second-chance points for us.”

Benzschawel used his 6-feet-7-inch frame to grab 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Clague had seven rebounds and six assists.

“We didn’t settle a ton. We attacked the basket,” James said.

Oriole Jake Lynch nearly kept up with the Hawks’ balanced scoring attack by himself, scoring 37 on 12-for-23 shooting, including going 4-for-7 on three-pointers. He was 9-for-10 on free throws. Gabe

Hoffman and Lucas Simon each scored 10.

The Hawks moved to 4-3 in the North Shore Conference while Hartford dropped to 3-4. Grafton was to play at Slinger on Tuesday and will play at Port Washington at 7:15 p.m. Friday in the second half of a boys-girls doubleheader.