NEW GLARUS - Sophomore Gavin Binger's preferred way for attacking the basket in New Glarus' Memphis-style offense is on a drive.
Binger, who scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, used his ability to penetrate to lead the Glarner Knights to a 57-52 non-conference win over Pecatonica Thursday.
"A lot of times I feel more comfortable being out top," Binger said. "I realized I could break my guy down and get to the basket. I thought I finished pretty good. I can always finish a little better. Right now, I feel like that is the best part of my game. I have worked a lot on ballhandling."
With New Glarus (4-5) clinging to a seven point lead, Pecatonica senior Chase Norton was fouled with 5 minutes, 15 seconds left. New Glarus senior Martrell Dixon was also called for a technical foul and was ejected for pushing. It turned into a six point possession as Norton and Pecatonica freshman A.J. Hendrickson, who scored a game-high 22 points, each made two free throws. Pecatonica sophomore Brooks Chandler was fouled down low and he hit two free throws to slice the Knights' lead to 50-49.
"That's a pretty big possession getting six points without any time coming off the clock," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said of the technical foul.
The Knights answered with a 7-3 run to close the game. Binger scored on a layup with 51 seconds left to give the Knights a 55-49 lead.
"Usually when something like that happens it could go the other way," Fink said of the Knights' run after the technical foul. "New Glarus made the plays down the stretch to hold on. It always seemed like we were down five or seven points. New Glarus is a good team and they make you play at a faster pace."
Pecatonica (4-5, 2-1 Six Rivers East) wouldn't go away quietly. Pecatonica senior Drew Schliem drilled a 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds to go to cut the Knights' lead to 55-52. The Knights broke the press and junior Colton Boley made two free throws to seal the win.
"We had a little adversity with the technical and the free throws," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "These last two games we have battled through it and found a way to win. I thought we did a great job on offense rebounding. The guys did a good job of crashing the boards and on defense we limited them to one and done."
The Knights had 13 offensive rebounds and the Vikings struggled stopping the Knights on the dribble drive.
"We gave them too many offensive rebounds," Fink said. "When you give up offensive rebounds that gives them double the chances to score. We are not a big team. That's not an excuse. Rebounding is an effort and timing thing."
The Vikings have three freshmen playing with one freshman and a sophomore in the starting lineup. Stopping penetration is a key.
"We knew he (Binger) liked to drive," Fink said. "We wanted to stop him from driving. We play a man-to-man defense. That is the style we want to instill in them. It's a process. We are getting better."
Early on, the game had the makings of one where it appeared the Knights would run away with the win. Dixon and Boley each knocked down 3-pointers to help the Knights jump out to a 6-0 lead. Binger hit a jumper and scored on a layup to give the Knights a 16-6 lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter. Dixon scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds. Sophomore teammate Landon Zimmerman had six points and 10 rebounds.
The Vikings stayed within striking distance behind Hendrickson who scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half. Hendrickson had two conventional three-point plays at the end of the second quarter to cut the Knights' lead to 35-30 at the half.
"He (Hendrickson) has come a long ways," Fink said. "I think he will only get better."
The Vikings gave themselves a chance by shooting 91.6 percent at the free throw line (22 of 24) and Hendrickson was 10 of 10. Pecatonica freshman Logan Green drilled a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to trim the Knights' lead to 40-35. However, the Knights responded with Binger hitting a jumper in the lane and Zimmerman scoring down low on the break to give the Knights a 44-35 lead. That set the stages for the fourth quarter.
Schliem scored nine points and Norton added eight points. The Knights were 2 of 5 shooting free throws in the final 2 minutes and they had two turnovers in the final 32 seconds.
"We were in attack mode until the end," Sysko said. "We took a couple of shots late where I thought we should have pulled it out. In the end, it worked in our favor."
Binger, who scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, used his ability to penetrate to lead the Glarner Knights to a 57-52 non-conference win over Pecatonica Thursday.
"A lot of times I feel more comfortable being out top," Binger said. "I realized I could break my guy down and get to the basket. I thought I finished pretty good. I can always finish a little better. Right now, I feel like that is the best part of my game. I have worked a lot on ballhandling."
With New Glarus (4-5) clinging to a seven point lead, Pecatonica senior Chase Norton was fouled with 5 minutes, 15 seconds left. New Glarus senior Martrell Dixon was also called for a technical foul and was ejected for pushing. It turned into a six point possession as Norton and Pecatonica freshman A.J. Hendrickson, who scored a game-high 22 points, each made two free throws. Pecatonica sophomore Brooks Chandler was fouled down low and he hit two free throws to slice the Knights' lead to 50-49.
"That's a pretty big possession getting six points without any time coming off the clock," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said of the technical foul.
The Knights answered with a 7-3 run to close the game. Binger scored on a layup with 51 seconds left to give the Knights a 55-49 lead.
"Usually when something like that happens it could go the other way," Fink said of the Knights' run after the technical foul. "New Glarus made the plays down the stretch to hold on. It always seemed like we were down five or seven points. New Glarus is a good team and they make you play at a faster pace."
Pecatonica (4-5, 2-1 Six Rivers East) wouldn't go away quietly. Pecatonica senior Drew Schliem drilled a 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds to go to cut the Knights' lead to 55-52. The Knights broke the press and junior Colton Boley made two free throws to seal the win.
"We had a little adversity with the technical and the free throws," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "These last two games we have battled through it and found a way to win. I thought we did a great job on offense rebounding. The guys did a good job of crashing the boards and on defense we limited them to one and done."
The Knights had 13 offensive rebounds and the Vikings struggled stopping the Knights on the dribble drive.
"We gave them too many offensive rebounds," Fink said. "When you give up offensive rebounds that gives them double the chances to score. We are not a big team. That's not an excuse. Rebounding is an effort and timing thing."
The Vikings have three freshmen playing with one freshman and a sophomore in the starting lineup. Stopping penetration is a key.
"We knew he (Binger) liked to drive," Fink said. "We wanted to stop him from driving. We play a man-to-man defense. That is the style we want to instill in them. It's a process. We are getting better."
Early on, the game had the makings of one where it appeared the Knights would run away with the win. Dixon and Boley each knocked down 3-pointers to help the Knights jump out to a 6-0 lead. Binger hit a jumper and scored on a layup to give the Knights a 16-6 lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter. Dixon scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds. Sophomore teammate Landon Zimmerman had six points and 10 rebounds.
The Vikings stayed within striking distance behind Hendrickson who scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half. Hendrickson had two conventional three-point plays at the end of the second quarter to cut the Knights' lead to 35-30 at the half.
"He (Hendrickson) has come a long ways," Fink said. "I think he will only get better."
The Vikings gave themselves a chance by shooting 91.6 percent at the free throw line (22 of 24) and Hendrickson was 10 of 10. Pecatonica freshman Logan Green drilled a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to trim the Knights' lead to 40-35. However, the Knights responded with Binger hitting a jumper in the lane and Zimmerman scoring down low on the break to give the Knights a 44-35 lead. That set the stages for the fourth quarter.
Schliem scored nine points and Norton added eight points. The Knights were 2 of 5 shooting free throws in the final 2 minutes and they had two turnovers in the final 32 seconds.
"We were in attack mode until the end," Sysko said. "We took a couple of shots late where I thought we should have pulled it out. In the end, it worked in our favor."
