NEW GLARUS — Playing the top-ranked team is never easy. Especially when the top-ranked team is unbeaten entering the last week of the regular season.
Such was the case Feb. 24, as the Glarner Knights struggled to put the ball in the hoop early and had to play from behind the entire game in a 77-59 loss to Cuba City.
“They came out and hit some 3s early and got into the paint on us,” New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. “I thought we had some good looks early on, just didn’t get the ball to go down for us. I liked what we were doing defensively and we were trying to be patient on offense.”
New Glarus opened just 1 for 9 from the field while the Cubans hit a pair of 3-pointers off the bat and seemingly every shot after. Cuba City (21-0) led 16-2 just seven minutes into the game. The Knights (14-7) would see the deficit reach as much as 19 points in the first half and went into halftime trailing 42-27.
They came out and hit some 3s early and got into the paint on us. I thought we had some good looks early on, just didn’t get the ball to go down for us. I liked what we were doing defensively and we were trying to be patient on offense.New Glarus coach Travis Sysko
“We weren’t too disappointed. We were playing good defense — they shot the lights out tonight, and props to them for that,” senior Connor Siegenthaler said.
The score could have been worse had it not been for Deven Vasquez and Siegenthaler. Vasquez made his presence known in the post, scoring six points in the half and finding the open man on the outside when double-teamed. Siegenthaler, a senior, hit three 3s and scored 11 points in the first half to keep the score from getting too far out of reach.
At halftime, Sysko told his players that they needed to come out with fire and purpose. His players followed orders.
“I’m proud of how we came out after half. We got it into the paint and worked it inside-out on 3s. We knocked some shots down and they started missing a few,” Sysko said.
The Knights opened the second half on a 10-2 run over the first four minutes, getting back to within seven points and forcing legendary Cubans coach Jerry Petitgoue to call a timeout.
“That run at the beginning of the second half, we may see them down the road and that stretch right there shows that we can play with them. We just have to put the whole game together,” Siegenthaler said.
Cuba City returned the favor with a 27-10 run over the next nine minutes to put the future outcome in check.
“There is a reason they are the No. 1 team in the state, and they bounced back. They put five pretty talented kids on the court, so it’s kind of a pick-your-poison on who you are going to try and slow down,” Sysko said.
Siegenthaler paced the Knights with 22 points in the game. Mason Martinson had 11, Vasquez eight and Garrett James six.
“Connor Siegenthaler played his butt off. He did a great job defensively on Brayden Dailey and just kept hitting big shots when we needed them. I couldn’t be prouder of what Connor did,” Sysko said. “All these guys, I thought they did an outstanding job. There’s no quit in our kids.”
Cuba City had just five players score, but all put in eight or more points. Jack Misky led the Cubans with 23 points, while Olson had 20, Jackson Noll 16, Brayden Dailey 10 and Riley Richard eight.
That run at the beginning of the second half, we may see them down the road and that stretch right there shows that we can play with them. We just have to put the whole game together.Connor Siegenthaler, New Glarus senior
“They played us hard. That was a tough game. We got to within seven, but they are tough, definitely,” James said. “Olson was hard to guard. He definitely put me on my feet a couple of times. Noll is really good, Richard is really good — they’ve got all sorts of good players.”
New Glarus was set to play the regular season finale Feb. 27 with a shot at an undefeated conference record. In the playoffs next week, the Knights host Brookwood () March 3 in the likely last home game of the season. The winner would then advance to face Fennimore () March 6.
There’s a chance the Knights could see the Cubans again this season — potentially March 7 in the regional final should New Glarus get past Fennimore.
“The advantage of playing a game like this late in the season is if you see them down the road, you’ve got some recent film and a feel for what they do,” Sysko said. “It was a good opportunity for us to see what the No. 1 team in the state looks like and what they are made of — and they’re pretty good. I think we found some things out about ourselves tonight that I think we can be pretty good, too, at times.”
