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Mike's BlogDude, whatever I want to talk about
January 04, 2013 | 09:30 PM
WILMOT - The second half of the area high school basketball season opened with a bang Friday night.
The Wilmot boys basketball squad took care of business in a Southern Lakes showdown with Burlington to gain sole possession of first place.
Late Wilmot free throws and missed opportunities by the Demons propelled the host Panthers to a 54-49 victory.
Wilmot improved to 11-1 overall and 6-0 in the SLC, one game ahead of defending champ Burlington (5-1).
The two teams meet again in the last game of the season in late February in Burlington, a game which should decide the conference champion.
Wilmot head coach Jake Erbentraut, a Lake Geneva native and Badger grad who played on Badger's 2000 state tournament team, said the pressure is on his team now.
"Everyone will be gunning for us now," he said after the game.
Erbentraut, who as an assistant under former Badger coach Forrest Larson helped guide the Badgers to their last state trip in 2008, has rejuvenated the Panthers in his first season.
Wilmot is ranked No. 7 in the state in Division 2, and the Panthers have quality wins over Division 2 powerhouse New Berlin Eisenhower along with D1 Kenosha County rivals Tremper and Bradford.
On Friday night, Wilmot enjoyed a comfortable 44-37 lead after three quarters, but a 10-2 run to open the fourth gave the Demons a 47-46 lead with three minutes to play.
However, Wilmot's Nate Hensel, who led the team with 14 points, sank a clutch 3-pointer with 1:30 left to put Wilmot back on top, 49-47.
Down 52-47 with 30 seconds left, Burlington couldn't buy a bucket, as two triple attempts from Jay Essman and one from Ben Geiger rimmed off before a Ty Dennis tip-in made it 52-49 with 9 seconds left.
Wilmot then swished two from the charity stripe for insurance to seal the deal.
For the game, the Panthers were 12-for-14 from the foul line.
Burlington's Carson Biedrzycki led all scorers with 18 points, including four triples. Dennis added 11, and Jimmy Penzel had 10.
Wilmot had four players score in double figures, including Andrew Lartey (13), Brandon Schattner (11) and Mike Stevenson (10).
The Panthers imposed their will defensively on the Demons, forcing a plethora of turnovers that led to easy fast-break layups.
With a combination of stellar defense, deadly accurate long range and free-throw shooting and a star player in Stevenson, the Panthers are now the favorites to win the SLC and could make a deep Division 2 playoff run.
Badger 61, Kenosha Reuther 39
It's going to take a huge second half and some luck for the Badger boys basketball squad to get back in the SLC title hunt, but Friday night's game was a perfect way to start.
Up 33-20 at the half, Badger cruised to a lopsided home victory over Division 5 Reuther, a team from Faith Christian's conference.
Badger, which sits 4.5 games behind Wilmot for the SLC lead, improved to a respectable 4-6 overall and is now only one win from tying last year's total.
The Badgers made it rain on the Bulldogs with 10 3-pointers on the night.
Freshman guard Jake Berhorst paced the Badgers with 19 points and scorched the nets with five triples.
Senior Ian Weber added four bombs for 12 points. Derrick Buntrock connected for the other 3-pointer.
Rob Slagle added eight points.
After a 2-6 start, Badger has won two straight contests, both nonconference.
Balanced scoring has been the name of the game for Badger this season, as seven players average five or more points per contest.
Badger travels to Whitewater (1-10) Monday night.
Mike Ramczyk
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