All 11 varsity players knock in points
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Westosha Central High School had 10 days to think, and practice, after the boys basketball team endured a season-opening loss at Whitnall.
The reflection paid off Friday at Southern Lakes Conference foe Lake Geneva Badger, where the Falcons had all hands on deck to trounce the Badgers 85-44, courtesy of lengthy runs and contributions from all 11 players in uniform.
According to Falcons coach James Hyllberg, the focal point in practice for more than a week was protecting the ball and to make crisper passes.
“We had a rough first game, we have been off for about 10 straight days,” said Hyllberg, whose team lost 78-52 Nov. 29 at Whitnall. “So our focus in practice has been moving the ball, limiting our turnovers and we were good with that tonight.”
“I am very happy about that,” he added.
After a short-lived back-and-forth affair that gave the Falcons a 9-8 edge, they broke the game open with a 25-0 run, sparked by a 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Dylan Anderson bucket.
Anderson contributed five of his seven total points in the 25-0 run.
Meanwhile, 5-11 senior Tre Williams, who scored 17 of his team-leading 22 points in the first half, chipped in seven of the Falcons 25 points.
Williams went 5 of 6 from the free throw line, made a 3-pointer and buried seven other baskets.
Williams said the team’s hustle attributed to the first half rally.
“We just wanted to use our quickness and get down the court,” said Williams. “Hopefully we get a lot of fast break point this year, because we have a lot of guards this year.”
Falcons forward Cooper Brinkman, a 6-4 junior, capped off the scoring stretch with a bucket before the Badgers responded with about six minutes left in the first half.
Brinkman made four baskets, including one from the arc, and converted 1 of 2 free throws to finish the contest with 10 points.
Following a Badger senior Ian Schirtzinger perimeter shot, the Falcons still held a 34-11 edge, before closing out the first half with a 48-23 lead.
In the second half, the Falcons had nine different players score, including seven from Brinkman and 6-2 senior Bailey Menarek to outscore the Badgers 37-21.
With 2:37 left, the running clock started, when 6-5 senior center Lucas Graveley chipped in back-to-back buckets to give the Falcons an 82-42 edge.
Graveley had five field goals and converted 1 of 3 free throws to finish with 11 points.
Williams credited the team’s post players, including – but not limited to – Graveley and Anderson, for keeping the Badgers off balance.
“They did a great job of finishing this week, the first game we didn’t finish as well, so Lucas and Dylan really did a good job finishing down low (tonight),” said Williams.
Lake Geneva 5-9 junior Austin Flower scored 19 points, 12 from the perimeter, to lead his squad.
Overall, the Badgers made eight 3-pointers, a strength Hyllberg acknowledged entering the contest.
“His team shoots all 3’s,” Hyllberg said. “So our goal was to get active hands on defense.”
Other Falcon contributors were 6-0 sophomore Jaeden Zackery (7 points), 6-4 junior Joey Gilliland (9 points), 6-0 senior Jack Schroeder (2 points), 6-0 senior Jake Werth (2 points), 5-10 junior Nic Frederick (3 points), Menarek (7 points) and 6-0 sophomore Adam Simmons (5 points).
Schroeder, who entered the contest in the closing minutes, was the 11th player to contribute.
“Everyone on our team stepped up huge tonight,” said Hyllberg. “The main thing this year is that all of our guys give maximum effort.”
Westosha Central improved to 1-1 (1-0 SLC) and Badger is 1-3 (0-1 SLC) after Friday’s verdict.