LHS gets W, Barrera back playing ball
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Quick Dish Cory Cory Hajovsky has been great at finding the open man for the Hornets.

The Hornets received a pair of big boosts in their game with Woodsboro Jan. 11.

Louise has struggled to find wins so far this year due to a depleted basketball roster and tough schedule in pre-district. The Hornets got a win to improve to 5-10 on the season and had a key player rejoin the team.

Senior Nick Barrera got to play in the second half after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Not many athletes get to come back from an ACL injury quickly, but Barrera worked and trained for a speedy return.

He suffered the tear during Louise's football season. As quarterback of the Hornets, Barrera went down Sept. 14 in a game against Ganado. When he found out he was sidelined for the rest of the season, Barrera began to work to make it back for basketball.

Expected to return to the roster Jan. 25, Barrera received clearance early and took to the court against Woodsboro.

"It felt good just to come back," Barrera said. "I heard the fans cheering me on, so I went out there and played hard. I tried to play like my regular self. I actually played better than I thought and we ended up winning."

NICK BARRERA

Louise came away with a 65-53 victory.

Last year, Barrera was point guard for the Hornets. With his knee still sore and in a brace, Barrera switched to play in the post so he puts less stress on his body.

"Since I was hurt, all I did was work on post moves and things like that," he said. "I'm in the paint and I do most of my scoring from there anyway."

Head Coach Joe Bill said Barrera is taking to his new position with relative ease.

"He's doing well," Bill said. "That's where he's going to have to play a lot. He just doesn't have the mobility to play out front yet. He's strong and he knows how to block out. I don't think anybody can stop him at the post. He's just got so much ability."

The addition of Barrera should help alleviate pressure on several Hornets and create a few more open shots.

Cory Hajovsky has taken over the point guard position, much like he did at quarterback for Barrera, and Bill thinks his shooting should improve most of all.

"I think it took a lot of pressure off of our kids," Bill said. "Cory had to step up and be the ball handler when Nick was gone. He'll still predominately be the ball handler, but at least Nick is out there and he can do the same thing and maybe free up Cory to shoot some threes. Cory is really shooting the ball really well."

The Hornets were down 33-32 at the half before Bill decided to put Barrera in. By the time he ran onto the court, Louise was already well on its way toward victory, but Barrera's presence made it even sweeter.

"I was kind of skittish about it," Bill said. "I was afraid that if I put him in too early, I wouldn't be able to use him later in the game. I waited until the second half and when I did (put him in), it gave us a spark. Even the crowd got into it.

"It really gave our team a boost. He came in and got the ball, took it to the hoop and scored right off the bat. He only scored 4 points, but just for him to be on the floor and his leadership played a tremendous role in that victory."

Louise outscored Woodsboro 12-10 in the third and 16-10 in the fourth quarter to finish with a 65-53 victory.

As for Barrera, he said he's glad to be back and hopes his team can go undefeated in district play. Then, with a little more work, he has other goals to pursue.

"(I wanted) just to show people that you can be down and get hurt, but you can still come back for stuff," Barrera said. "It's my last year. You want to come back and play. Hopefully I can play (college) ball somewhere. That's my dream, to play basketball somewhere."