BELLEVILLE — While New Glarus senior Jaden Kreklow has already penned his name into the school’s history books as the all-time leader in scoring and assists, his recent individual exploits have been something out of folklore legends.

Just over two weeks after unconsciously dropping 42 points in a victory over Monroe, Kreklow dropped 27 on Belleville — in the first half. The point guard found his openings all over the court — in the lane, under the basket, 30 feet out on the wing — and combined with a devastating press defense, the Glarner Knights cruised to a 77-50 win over the rival Wildcats Jan. 15.

“I was just trying to come out and play with some energy. Rivalries are always fun because there’s extra energy and it’s a good atmosphere,” Kreklow said.

New Glarus led 40-15 after the first half, forcing Belleville into 18 turnovers in the first 18 minutes. While Kreklow’s five steals in the span opened eyes, it was his ability to score that dropped jaws. Belleville took a 5-3 lead 83 seconds into the game after a Sawyer Fahey 3-pointer, but Kreklow would have none of it. The point guard stepped back from 30 feet deep and buried a triple to put his team back in the driver’s seat for good.

“It always helps when you can start off and make some shots. Once the 3 is going, it just opens everything up and the game is just coming to me,” said Kreklow, who added that the defensive execution of the night was the key to the game. “We’re really keying in on defense this year — trying to get stops and turnovers and turning those into points. We did a good job tonight putting pressure on them and getting easy buckets off of turnovers.”

Trevor Gassman scored a bucket in the paint on the next possession to make it 8-6, and then Kreklow rang off 22 straight points for New Glarus — some from beyond the arc, others off of steals in transition and the occasional floater in the lane.

“We see it every night in practice with Jaden. He’s a special player,” Knights coach Travis Sysko said. “He has that ability where if the shots aren’t falling for some other guys, he can put the team on his back. He’s fun to watch.”

Sysko said he was pleased with his squad holding Belleville to just 15 points in the first half.

“They’ve been putting up some points lately and I thought our defense did a great job of eliminating their opportunities. We forced some turnovers that led to some easy steals,” Sysko said. “Jaden got going in that first half, and obviously that’s a big difference for us.”

Despite being down 25 points at the break, Belleville coach Scott Noll still had a plan in place for his squad in the second half.

“Our goal was to get it down to 12 at the 10-minute mark. Twenty-five points isn’t unheard of to make a basketball game,” Noll said. 

But the Knights (11-2, 3-0 Capitol South) never gave Belleville (6-5, 1-2) the opportunity to creep back into the game. Zach Feller opened the second half with a 3 and then Gassman and sophomore Mason Martinson took over inside. Kreklow didn’t need to score in the second half with his team comfortably in front.

“(New Glarus) didn’t do anything other than execute. We knew what they were going to do, and we fell right into what they were doing. It’s all about execution. Winning basketball games is not easy, and we took a licking tonight,” Noll said.

Martinson and Gassman each finished with 12 points. Both players worked the paint and the glass offensively and defensively and found each other cutting to the hoop for easy buckets — especially in the second half.

“I feel like I’ve been getting better on the defensive end and on the glass. At the beginning of the year we kind of struggled inside, but as the year has gone on, we’ve been getting better,” said Martinson, who finished one rebound shy of a double-double. “We’ve been starting to hit shots, everybody is starting to come together a little bit more. Everyone’s starting to find their role and we’ve started to click these last two games.”

Sysko said he’s been pleased with the progress of his sophomore forward, and especially pleased with his recent outings.

“I was really happy with Mason Martinson, with where he’s come from at the beginning of the season to now, where he’s played his best two games of the season,” Sysko said. “He did some great things, especially against that zone tonight. When we got him the ball in there, he found a cutter or an open shooter or finished it himself. Great all-around effort.”

New Glarus’ lead reached its widest mark with 4:34 remaining, going up 34 points at 69-35. By then, the substitutes had already been in the game for more than two minutes.

Belleville, winners of 5 of 6 coming into the game, played without its top scorer in Royce Clark, a 6-3 junior forward who was averaging 18.9 points per game. Sawyer Fahey led the Wildcats with 14 points in the contest, while Jacob Shrader had 10 and Austin Fahey finished with eight.

“One of their better players, Clark, maybe their best players, was out tonight. It was a big loss for them,” said Sysko, who added that “anytime you come to Belleville and walk away with a win, it’s a good night.”

Martinson and Gassman each scored 12 for New Glarus, while Nathan Streiff added seven points — all in the second half.