NEW GLARUS - In Europe, when the going gets tough the French throw their hands in the air in defeat. In New Glarus, America's little Switzerland, Kirbe French didn't give up - instead he willed his team to victory.
"He had some momentum swinging plays out there, whether it was on the defensive end or the offensive end," New Glarus coach Tony Sysko said after his team's 54-50 win over Belleville in the opening round of the WIAA Division 4 boys basketball tournament. "That's what we look for from these guys. Somebody's got to step up every night and tonight it was Kirbe."
French scored a game-high 23 points and was both the emotional and playmaking spark for the Glarner Knights (12-11) down the stretch.
"The best offensive game Kirbe's had all year was tonight. That kept us in it," Sysko said.
Trailing 40-34 early in the fourth quarter, senior Tyler Dorn scored twice in transition, including once on an 80-foot full-court pass from French.
French then took back-to-back-to-back passes in the lane from teammates Braden Pittman, Tyler Kreklow and Dorn; and added two booming blocks on defense as the Knights went on a 13-0 run to take a 47-40 lead.
"They picked up the intensity on defense and we got some easy transition baskets to start that fourth," Sysko said. "Pittman hit a big 3 in the corner."
Pittman hit a 3-pointer off of a pass from Dorn to cap the run, which forced an immediate timeout from Belleville coach Tom Lesar with 4 minutes, 2 seconds left in the game.
"This time of the season it's win and move on or lose and go home," Sysko said. "It's all about survival and we survived one tonight."
New Glarus then hit 7 of 8 free throws to close out the game. The combination of the fourth quarter surge and free throws erased what was an otherwise ugly game for the Knights. New Glarus committed 17 turnovers, went 7-for-16 from the line in the first half and let a 25-20 half-time lead dwindle to a 37-32 deficit to open the fourth quarter.
"They had a gameplan. They played hard and played well," Sysko said. "I told the kids, 'Basically the season is on the line right now. You have to pick it up and everybody's got to be on the same page.'
"You've got to make your free throws early and you've got to make them down the stretch. Fortunately we made enough down the stretch to get the 'W.'"
Belleville's Jared Rear led his team with 15 points and Garrison Wood added 14. The Wildcats (2-21) used a half-court and full-court trap scheme to force New Glarus into several turnovers in the second half.
"I don't think it's very surprising. The first two times we played them they gave it all they had. They hit shots tonight and made plays," Dorn said of Belleville pressure. "With Belleville it's a rival game, so we knew they were going to bring it. They were out-hustling us until that fourth quarter when we made a run. We weren't playing very well and throwing it all over."
Now New Glarus will have two days to recover before traveling to Cambridge (13-9) for a second round game on Friday.
"Every team is 0-0 starting tonight. You have to make plays out there. Whoever plays their best moves on," said Dorn, who scored 11 points. "Cambridge got the best of us the first two times we've played them, and we're hoping the third time is a charm for us."
"He had some momentum swinging plays out there, whether it was on the defensive end or the offensive end," New Glarus coach Tony Sysko said after his team's 54-50 win over Belleville in the opening round of the WIAA Division 4 boys basketball tournament. "That's what we look for from these guys. Somebody's got to step up every night and tonight it was Kirbe."
French scored a game-high 23 points and was both the emotional and playmaking spark for the Glarner Knights (12-11) down the stretch.
"The best offensive game Kirbe's had all year was tonight. That kept us in it," Sysko said.
Trailing 40-34 early in the fourth quarter, senior Tyler Dorn scored twice in transition, including once on an 80-foot full-court pass from French.
French then took back-to-back-to-back passes in the lane from teammates Braden Pittman, Tyler Kreklow and Dorn; and added two booming blocks on defense as the Knights went on a 13-0 run to take a 47-40 lead.
"They picked up the intensity on defense and we got some easy transition baskets to start that fourth," Sysko said. "Pittman hit a big 3 in the corner."
Pittman hit a 3-pointer off of a pass from Dorn to cap the run, which forced an immediate timeout from Belleville coach Tom Lesar with 4 minutes, 2 seconds left in the game.
"This time of the season it's win and move on or lose and go home," Sysko said. "It's all about survival and we survived one tonight."
New Glarus then hit 7 of 8 free throws to close out the game. The combination of the fourth quarter surge and free throws erased what was an otherwise ugly game for the Knights. New Glarus committed 17 turnovers, went 7-for-16 from the line in the first half and let a 25-20 half-time lead dwindle to a 37-32 deficit to open the fourth quarter.
"They had a gameplan. They played hard and played well," Sysko said. "I told the kids, 'Basically the season is on the line right now. You have to pick it up and everybody's got to be on the same page.'
"You've got to make your free throws early and you've got to make them down the stretch. Fortunately we made enough down the stretch to get the 'W.'"
Belleville's Jared Rear led his team with 15 points and Garrison Wood added 14. The Wildcats (2-21) used a half-court and full-court trap scheme to force New Glarus into several turnovers in the second half.
"I don't think it's very surprising. The first two times we played them they gave it all they had. They hit shots tonight and made plays," Dorn said of Belleville pressure. "With Belleville it's a rival game, so we knew they were going to bring it. They were out-hustling us until that fourth quarter when we made a run. We weren't playing very well and throwing it all over."
Now New Glarus will have two days to recover before traveling to Cambridge (13-9) for a second round game on Friday.
"Every team is 0-0 starting tonight. You have to make plays out there. Whoever plays their best moves on," said Dorn, who scored 11 points. "Cambridge got the best of us the first two times we've played them, and we're hoping the third time is a charm for us."
