By Dan Truttschel~Sports Correspondent
A layup by Nate Hensel after a rebound by Trey Turner and a pass by Brandon Schattner with just five-tenths of a second left was the difference in a 54-53 win at Westosha Central Feb. 7.
Wilmot trailed by one point with 6.2 seconds left when Central missed the front end of a bonus free throw. Turner grabbed the rebound to set up the game-winning play.
“Trey got the rebound with a quick outlet and good advance of the ball to Brandon, who got a running start toward the rim,” Wilmot coach Joe Erbentraut said.
“I looked ahead and Nate was sprinting ahead with two guys back for Westosha. Seeing those two on the break, there was no way I was calling a timeout.”
Central had a final shot for the win, but an inbounds pass from under the Wilmot basket sailed out of bounds. After school officials and the referees cleared the court, the Panthers were given possession and they ran out the clock.
“It was an incredible moment,” Erbentraut said. “It’s a big rivalry, there was a big crowd, and a great ending from our perspective. I thought our guys had composure and executed the best they could. I was very proud of them.”
Another key to the win came from the free-throw line, where Wilmot made 18 of 24 attempts, compared to four of 10 for Central.
The Falcons, who lost by four points to Wilmot earlier in the year, pose some matchup problems, Ebentraut said.
“They have unmatched size that can truly play,” he said. “In addition, their guards were solid and made some plays. They are a good team.”
Schattner, who battled through a sprained ankle all night, had 14 points, followed by Hensel with 12, Cody Filiatreault with nine and Evan Ketterhagen with seven.
Filiatreault may have en-joyed his finest offensive effort of the year, Erbentraut said.
“I told him whatever he did to prepare for that game, continue to do it,” he said. “He played outstanding with rebounding, playing physical against their bigs, blocking shots and finishing around the rim. It was a great overall performance.”
Wilmot was back in Southern Lakes Conference action Tuesday night against visiting Elkhorn. The Panthers entered play this week at 8-2 in the SLC, one game behind league leading Union Grove.
The Panthers then will host Burlington, third in the SLC at 7-4, Friday night at 7:45 p.m. The game, which will follow the varsity girls game, will feature a halftime ceremony to honor Greg Bush, who held the individual scoring record for a game until earlier this year when Schattner scored 45 against the Demons.
“We need to win going into the seeding meeting (Saturday),” Erbentraut said. “These are two important games. We need to take them one game at a time and continue to build momentum.”
Encore performance
The excitement from a heart-stopping win over rival Westosha Central had barely worn off when the Wilmot boys basketball team was right back at it Saturday afternoon.
And, while it wasn’t always pretty, the Panthers had just enough gas left in the tank to get the job done.
Wilmot used a 14-9 third-quarter run to finally pull away from a talented Richmond-Burton (Ill.) squad for a 59-53 non-conference victory. The win improved the Panthers to 14-4 overall.
“I thought they did a really nice job rebounding after an emotional night (Friday) in less than 24 hours,” Wilmot coach Jake Erbentraut said.
“Richmond’s a good team, leading their conference, similar record (as ours), and we came in with a mindset that this was our playoff format. They did a nice job handling the situation.”
The game was a bit rough for both teams, as they combined for 42 turnovers.
But it was Wilmot’s ability to make a big shot when it needed that was the difference, Erbentraut said.
“I talked with the Richmond coach right after the game, and he couldn’t get over how they would make a run, then we would answer right back,” he said. “That has been our performance recently, which is both good and bad.”
Wilmot led 16-15 after the first quarter, but trailed by one by halftime. The third quarter was the difference.
A big part of the Panthers’ run was the play of senior Brendan Walsh off the bench, as he drained two 3-pointers to spark the rally.
“I can’t be happier for Brendan,” Erbentraut said. “He gets limited minutes, but we can count on him making the most of his opportunity. He has been great for us in that regard.”
Nate Hensel led the Panthers with 20 points, followed by Brandon Schattner and Mike Lindeman with seven, Walsh with six and Bryce Kothe with five.
Wilmot opened the week with a 51-45 SLC win over visiting Waterford Feb. 4. Schattner led the way with 17 points and four steals, fol-lowed by Hensel with 14 points, four rebounds and four steals and Dustin McFarlane with 10 points.