NEW GLARUS — This year, the Knights have a flair for dramatics. New Glarus won its second straight game via buzzer-beater. First, Matt Roth sealed a 62-59 win over Turner on Dec. 27. In the next game, Dec. 30, a lofty 3-pointer came from sophomore Nolan Julseth to defeat Brodhead 72-69.

“It only helps the confidence going forward to know that you’ve always got an opportunity if you get the ball down (the floor) with that last-second shot you’ve got a chance to win,” New Glarus head coach Travis Sysko said. “You have to feel pretty good about our chances. We’ve had a couple different guys hit those shots now, which bodes well for us going forward.”

Julseth began the game just as he ended it with a 3-pointer at the top of the key. After the opening bucket, for the next five possessions the two teams traded points — but it was all Brody Riese that did the scoring for Brodhead. The senior scored six points in the post through lots of contact.

But the Cardinals quickly found themselves in a 12-6 hole with a 3-pointer from Breckyn Thompson and fast-break bucket by Clayton Streiff. Head coach Tommy Meier called a timeout to reconfigure his team.

Out of the break, Brodhead switched from man defense to a 2-3 zone, slowing New Glarus down. The tactic paid off, as the Cardinals evened the score at 12-12 with back-to-back 3-pointers from Brooks Malkow and Gabe Bockhop. 

“On-ball defense has been a weakness of ours this season and with NG running dribble-drive, we knew we may not be able to keep them in front,” Meier said. “We saw on film that when teams played zone against them, it really took them out of their rhythm and what they do best. We didn’t intend to stay in it the rest of the game, but we were having some success with it.” 

Brodhead took its first advantage at 10:12 with a bucket from Riese, but it lasted all of 25 seconds. Charlie Sarbacker took the lead right back, putting his own rebound back up for two. It was the start of a 13-2 run for the Knights. By the end of the rally — a defensive rebound that Andrew Sarbacker took back for two — New Glarus led 29-19.

Once Brodhead was able to slow New Glarus again, the Cardinals went on their own 10-3 run to close out the half. The frame ended with Riese at the line, missing an and-one off his offensive putback, cutting his team’s deficit to 33-29.

Attempting to sway momentum back to their side to start the second period, the Knights applied a full-court press. Sam Searls and the rest of the Brodhead squad proved up to the task, coming out on a 5-point run to take their second lead of the game. Searls was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line with a 3-pointer.

“I thought they (Brodhead) did a better job of slowing us down toward the end of the half and getting into their sets on their offense and getting some looks that they wanted,” Sysko said. “At halftime, we talked about how we need to start playing fast again, so that’s why we came out to press — try and make them play faster.” 

Eventually, that press — and trapping in the corners — paid off. Breckyn Thompson was able to steal a ball in transition and, after the offense got set up, scored on a corner three to regain a 36-34 lead. It sparked a 16-3 run, resulting in another double-digit advantage for New Glarus seven minutes into the second half.

Soon, Brodhead began to figure the press out. Riese and Bockhop received wide-open looks resulting from the broken press, getting within single digits once again.

“NG pressing actually may have played to our favor. I know they were trying to speed us up and force some turnovers without Cullen out there.” Meier said, referring to starter Cullen Walker who was out with an ankle injury. “But our guards handled their pressure for the most part and we got a few easy buckets out of it.”

Brodhead slowly chipped away with points from Searls and Nolan Bump. Even though Riese and Bockhop picked up multiple fouls that sent New Glarus to the line for bonus, the Knights came up empty on their first two attempts. It left the door open for the Cardinals to claw their way back. Bump went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line and hit a corner three to give his team a 64-63 lead with two and a half minutes left.

“He (Bump) has been going against our number ones a lot during practice and I think the more he does that and the more game reps he gets, the game is going to slow down for him even more,” Meier said.

The lead switched three more times with players making clutch shot after clutch shot. With 3.8 seconds left, Searls scored through traffic to knot the game at 69-69, looking to send the game into overtime.

But in their subsequent timeout, the Knights drew up the game-winning plan. Thompson inbounded to Roth, who took three dribbles up the court and passed to Julseth along the perimeter whose buzzer-beating shot got over the outstretched 6’3” Riese for the win.

“It felt amazing,” Julseth said. “It was a great pass by my teammate and I got a good look and knocked it down.”

Despite the loss, Meier said his team showed lots of mental toughness — a trait the Cardinals will need with their upcoming schedule against Marshall (6-3) and Potosi (4-2). 

“The kids showed a ton of heart and grit to never give up and just keep battling,” he said. “We had a number of kids step up and make plays. They did everything we asked of them and gave themselves an opportunity to win in the end.”