BOYS BASKETBALL: Falcons down Union Grove

Jaeden Zackery, shown here against Lake Geneva Badger, scored 13 points for the Falcons against Union Grove (Heather Ruenz/The Report).

Williams, two sophomores lead the Falcons

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

In a Southern Lakes Conference contest, all the Westosha Central High School boys basketball team had to do was wait for the right time to peak Friday at Union Grove.

The Falcons, who underwent four lead changes at the start of the clash, found that peak midway through the first half and surged the rest of the night to defeat the Broncos 70-56.

Falcons coach James Hyllberg, whose team has won five of their last six games, noted patience had prevailed.

“We just had to be patient, it’s hard against a team like Union Grove,” said Hyllberg. “They came out, made a lot of good shots we got to give them credit.”

The credit went to Broncos’ 6-foot-1 junior guard Jack Pettit, who scored a game-high 16 points, including nine in the second half.

Pettit, who scored three of the Broncos’ first 13 points, kept his squad ahead 13-12, before the Falcons pounded the inside with a 6-foot-4 junior Cooper Brinkman basket to give them a 14-13 edge.

Following Brinkman’s bucket, the Falcons and Broncos waged in a back and forth battle, until Falcons 5-11 senior guard Tre Williams sparked a 13-6 run to send Westosha Central into halftime with a 36-27 lead.

Williams, who scored 11 of his team-leading 14 points in the first half, drained four 3-pointers.

Entering the second half, the Falcons seized the contest, producing a 16-4 run to build a commanding 52-31 lead.

“They got the rebounds, we didn’t make many shots and they beat us in transition,” said Union Grove coach Jack Pettit. “They found the open shots. If you don’t get stops, it’s tough.”

Of the Falcons 16 points to open the second half, 6-5 senior Lucas Graveley pitched in six of his eight points.

Sophomore Jaeden Zackery, a 6-0 guard, contributed six of his 13 points in the second half surge.

For the rest of the contest, 6-3 sophomore Dylan Anderson pounded the paint, pitching in eight points to finish with 12 points for the Falcons.

“It was just looking for the guys down low, we got some good looks from the big guys,” said Hyllberg, who acknowledged his sophomore squad.

“Dylan played really well, he is strong and he finished at the rim. It is great to see that in our young guys.”

The Broncos, who dropped to 8-8 (4-5 SLC), received 13 points from 6-3 junior guard Riley Hale while 5-10 guard Jacob Ross added another 10.

Meanwhile, the Falcons maintain a share of the top spot in the SLC, jumping to 8-2 (12-5 overall).


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