Westosha moves to top of SLC
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
According to Westosha Central High School boys basketball coach James Hyllberg, senior Tre Williams found his rhythm Friday against visiting Wilmot Union High School.
Williams, a 5-foot-11 guard, knocked in 21 of his game-high 26 points in the first half en route to a 73-45 defeat of the Panthers.
With the Falcons ahead 24-19 in the first half, Williams knocked in 10 consecutive points to build a commanding 15-point lead for Westosha Central, which saw the run stop with a 6-0 Panthers’ senior Troy Hickey 3-pointer.
“He stepped up, he played a heck of a game,” said Hyllberg. “He was feeling it, so we kept giving it to him.”
Williams agreed, adding he was just following the flow of the contest.
“It was just about staying aggressive, my shot was falling,” said Williams. “I didn’t really want to force anything, just wanted to work within the system and it just came to me.”
Following Hickey’s perimeter shot, Westosha Central 6-4 senior Lucas Graveley knocked in a bucket in the pain, before the Panthers answered with back-to-back junior Jeremy Bruton 3-pointers.
Bruton, a 6-2 guard, finished with seven points.
However, Bruton’s six points did not deter Williams, who responded with a bucket followed by a first half buzzer beater to send the Falcons into halftime with a 41-28 edge.
“He put the team on his back,” said Hyllberg.
Glass has forgettable contest
Unfortunately, for the Panthers, their leading scorer Latrell Glass suffered through a cold shooting game.
Glass, who entered with a scoring average of 20.7 points per game, was held scoreless until 3:35 into the second half, when he made his only bucket of the contest.
Williams, who noted Glass was a key component of the Falcons game plan, believes the Panthers’ junior just had one bad night on the court.
“It was our main focus to shut him down, Latrell is one of my great friends, but everybody has an off night,” said Williams. “Tonight, unfortunately, it was one of those nights.”
Hyllberg concurred, stating Glass is a potent threat on offense.
“(Latrell) can put up points in a hurry, he is a great player,” Hyllberg said. “He is probably the best shooter on that team.”
With Glass unable to come through, Panthers’ sophomore Kevin Brenner attempted to ignite a rally with four of Wilmot’s six points to open the second.
However, Brenner, who finished a team-leading 10 points, was not enough to ward off the Falcons other shooters.
Among the Falcon scorers were sophomore Adam Simmons (10 points), junior Cooper Brinkman (10) and sophomore Dylan Anderson (8).
As the Panthers dropped to 3-8 (1-5 SLC), Westosha Central jumped to 8-4 (6-1 SLC), and bounced back from a loss to Burlington on Tuesday.
“First and foremost, you got to give Burlington credit, they are a good team for a reason, they made some good shots,” said Hyllberg.
For Williams, however, the loss offered needed motivation.
“We never should have lost that game to begin with, it was just one of the things on our mind, just to bounce back,” said Williams.
Burlington loses to visiting Elkhorn
Entering Friday’s contest against the Panthers, the Falcons were in a first place tie at 5-1 with Burlington, which lost 58-48 to visiting Elkhorn, therefore, giving Westosha Central sole possession of the top spot.