Zackery notches 34 for Westosha Central
By Jason Arndt
Editor
In a clash between two state-ranked boys basketball teams, Westosha Central had the upper hand Feb. 8, when the Falcons fast paced style overwhelmed visiting Waukesha West.
The Falcons, No. 5 in Division 2, according to the WisSports.net Coaches Poll, needed 34 points from Jaeden Zackery to come away with the 75-65 victory against fifth ranked Waukesha West in Division 1.
Zackery’s performance, which included a dunk in the closing minutes of the game, left Waukesha West coach Don LaValle.
“They executed, Jaeden Zackery is tough, he had a great second half and closed out the game,” said LaValle, whose team dropped to 16-3 overall in the non conference contest.
Zackery, who entered halftime with six points, produced 28 in the second half, including eight of the Falcons last 10 points.
His production, however, came in spite of injury with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left of regulation.
Ahead 61-60, Zackery drew a personal foul, but tumbled to the ground and landed on his hip.
Falcons coach James Hyllberg, who credited Zackery’s resilience, selected freshman Jack Rose to take the free throws in his place.
Rose, according to Hyllberg, spends most of his time shooting free throws and knew he could come through.
“He is a pretty confident kid and he stepped up and made some huge free throws,” said Hyllberg.
Zackery, meanwhile, returned to the court amid loud cheers from the Westosha Central student section and picked up where he left off.
“I am a little sore, but I will just worry about it (Feb. 9),” said Zackery.
Zackery, who drew four personal fouls, converted all eight of his free throws to help the Falcons secure the 75-65 victory.
Zackery added seven rebounds and four assists.
Along with Zackery, the Falcons garnered contributions from seniors Adam Simmons and Dylan Anderson.
Simmons, who finished with a season-high 18 points, scored 14 in the first half.
“We really push each other and feed off of each other,” Zackery said about Simmons.
While Anderson scored 13 points, he grabbed five rebounds in the post, where Waukesha West possessed size and strength.
The size, according to Zackery, made the Falcons’ fast paced game critical to the team’s success.
“They are bigger than us, so we just came out and played our game, which is fast paced,” he said.
Falcons’ senior Joey Michelau, a 6-foot-5 forward, played a crucial role in helping the team ward off the longer Waukesha West team.
Michelau, who had eight points, snagged a game-high 10 rebounds.
‘Dangerous team’
Meanwhile, Chris Bready scored a team-leading 20 points, including 12 from the arc, for the Wolverines.
David Skogman, who had eight rebounds, added another 19 points and Cam Palesse chipped in 18.
Collectively, Waukesha West went 21-for-50 from field goal range, and converted 13 of 27 3-pointers.
“They have a lot of good talent, a lot of good shooters, they are a very dangerous team,” Hyllberg said.
Westosha Central, meanwhile, made 26 of 52 field goal attempts, including 9-for-24 from the perimeter.
“Every little play matters in these games,” said Hyllberg, whose team jumped to 15-1 overall.
Westosha Central remained unbeaten in Southern Lakes Conference play at 9-0.