NEW GLARUS - In front of about eleventy-billion people confined in the small New Glarus High School gym Friday, the unbeaten New Glarus boys basketball team found a second wind and knocked off highway rival Belleville 76-54.
"I think the guys were really excited to play in front of a big crowd like that," New Glarus head coach Travis Sysko said. "That's the size you normally see at a regional final or a sectional final. That's what this rivalry means to these two schools."
The Glarus Knights, ranked No. 3 in the state in both the AP and WisSports.net Coaches Division 4 polls, faced a stingy Wildcats' defense early on, which aided a cold shooting streak and allowed Belleville to take an early lead.
"I couldn't be more proud, actually," Belleville head coach Scott Noll said of his team, which was already down its biggest scoring threat for the rest of the season (Drew Shrader).
After opening the game cold, the Knights picked up the pace on defense. Between a high-trap half-court and quick outlet passes, New Glarus (12-0, 4-0 Capitol South) used a transition offense to run away from the Wildcats (6-7, 1-2) midway through the first.
"That's not the first time this season we've started cold. These guys don't get rattled easy, though, and our defense picked it up," Sysko said. "Give Belleville credit - they took it to us there for a bit."
The Knights initially began the game quickly, going up 7-2 in the first four minutes - mostly thanks to their own defensive presence. An early 3-pointer from Zach Feller and a pair of coast-to-coast steal and lay-ins by Jaden Kreklow and Cullen Brooks marked the Knight's first three buckets. But then Belleville came knocking, running off a 15-5 run that had the Wildcats ahead 17-12 with 9:17 left in the first half. The two squads exchanged buckets on seven straight possessions before Noll called a full timeout with 6:32 left until halftime and his team ahead 21-18.
"We made them call two timeouts in a row without them scoring - our defense really picked up," Brooks said.
Noll's first timeout backfired. The pause in the action allowed Sysko to talk with his cold-shooting team at length, and once the ball was back in play the Knights rattled off 11-straight points in just over 21/2 minutes. The run changed the complexion of the game.
"They put a press on us and we got a little wound up. It's nothing that we were ready for, we just didn't execute," Noll said.
Over the final two minutes of the half, New Glarus went on a second big run (8-0) and led 40-26 at the break.
"Hat's off to New Glarus. They are a good ball club," Noll said. "They hit shots. We left guys open that we wanted to hit shots and they hit shots."
When the teams came out to start the second half, the Knights continued to own the momentum - this time it was because of their offense and not just the defense. Brooks, a 6-3 senior post player, had six assists in the first 5:40 of the second half.
"Cullen does a nice job - he's a good passer. We have a lot of guys cutting and he finds them," Sysko said. "I think (Connor) Siegenthaler was a big recipient."
Four of Brooks' six assists during the 19-7 run went to Siegenthaler, a sophomore, who scored all nine of his points during the short stretch.
Brooks knows that when he can find the open guy, the entire team is better.
"It's great because I know those other guys will focus on me and the cutters are coming and shooters are on the wing and I can just kick it out to the guy that's open. We can score 15 to 20 points that way," Brooks said. "It doesn't have to be me scoring, it can be anybody."
Belleville found itself down by 24 with 12:20 left in regulation. The closes the Wildcats could climb back would be 17 points with just over nine minutes to play.
"Even in the second half we had a conversation that it was a 14-point game at one point. We got the stop we needed, but then had a horrible offensive possession. If we would have done well on that, well, those are the possessions that can win you ball games," Noll said.
Kreklow's 20 points paced all scorers on the night. Elsewhere for New Glarus, Trevor Gassman had 14, Brooks finished with 12, and Feller 10. Jared Schulting led Belleville with 15 and Brock Kelly had 14.
"We're trying to find a new way now. We lost our leader for the season - Drew Shrader - and with that 20 points a game. If you notice, we lost by 22," Noll said. "The good news is I have a lot of guys who are getting valuable minutes - guys that are learning and being in situations that maybe they wouldn't have been in before. That's the silver lining."
Belleville now faces Wisconsin Dells, the third-ranked team in Division 3. So far this season, the Wildcats have faced five teams ranked in the top 10.
"We set some goals at the beginning of the year and those are still attainable. We're pretty happy about that," Noll said.
"I think the guys were really excited to play in front of a big crowd like that," New Glarus head coach Travis Sysko said. "That's the size you normally see at a regional final or a sectional final. That's what this rivalry means to these two schools."
The Glarus Knights, ranked No. 3 in the state in both the AP and WisSports.net Coaches Division 4 polls, faced a stingy Wildcats' defense early on, which aided a cold shooting streak and allowed Belleville to take an early lead.
"I couldn't be more proud, actually," Belleville head coach Scott Noll said of his team, which was already down its biggest scoring threat for the rest of the season (Drew Shrader).
After opening the game cold, the Knights picked up the pace on defense. Between a high-trap half-court and quick outlet passes, New Glarus (12-0, 4-0 Capitol South) used a transition offense to run away from the Wildcats (6-7, 1-2) midway through the first.
"That's not the first time this season we've started cold. These guys don't get rattled easy, though, and our defense picked it up," Sysko said. "Give Belleville credit - they took it to us there for a bit."
The Knights initially began the game quickly, going up 7-2 in the first four minutes - mostly thanks to their own defensive presence. An early 3-pointer from Zach Feller and a pair of coast-to-coast steal and lay-ins by Jaden Kreklow and Cullen Brooks marked the Knight's first three buckets. But then Belleville came knocking, running off a 15-5 run that had the Wildcats ahead 17-12 with 9:17 left in the first half. The two squads exchanged buckets on seven straight possessions before Noll called a full timeout with 6:32 left until halftime and his team ahead 21-18.
"We made them call two timeouts in a row without them scoring - our defense really picked up," Brooks said.
Noll's first timeout backfired. The pause in the action allowed Sysko to talk with his cold-shooting team at length, and once the ball was back in play the Knights rattled off 11-straight points in just over 21/2 minutes. The run changed the complexion of the game.
"They put a press on us and we got a little wound up. It's nothing that we were ready for, we just didn't execute," Noll said.
Over the final two minutes of the half, New Glarus went on a second big run (8-0) and led 40-26 at the break.
"Hat's off to New Glarus. They are a good ball club," Noll said. "They hit shots. We left guys open that we wanted to hit shots and they hit shots."
When the teams came out to start the second half, the Knights continued to own the momentum - this time it was because of their offense and not just the defense. Brooks, a 6-3 senior post player, had six assists in the first 5:40 of the second half.
"Cullen does a nice job - he's a good passer. We have a lot of guys cutting and he finds them," Sysko said. "I think (Connor) Siegenthaler was a big recipient."
Four of Brooks' six assists during the 19-7 run went to Siegenthaler, a sophomore, who scored all nine of his points during the short stretch.
Brooks knows that when he can find the open guy, the entire team is better.
"It's great because I know those other guys will focus on me and the cutters are coming and shooters are on the wing and I can just kick it out to the guy that's open. We can score 15 to 20 points that way," Brooks said. "It doesn't have to be me scoring, it can be anybody."
Belleville found itself down by 24 with 12:20 left in regulation. The closes the Wildcats could climb back would be 17 points with just over nine minutes to play.
"Even in the second half we had a conversation that it was a 14-point game at one point. We got the stop we needed, but then had a horrible offensive possession. If we would have done well on that, well, those are the possessions that can win you ball games," Noll said.
Kreklow's 20 points paced all scorers on the night. Elsewhere for New Glarus, Trevor Gassman had 14, Brooks finished with 12, and Feller 10. Jared Schulting led Belleville with 15 and Brock Kelly had 14.
"We're trying to find a new way now. We lost our leader for the season - Drew Shrader - and with that 20 points a game. If you notice, we lost by 22," Noll said. "The good news is I have a lot of guys who are getting valuable minutes - guys that are learning and being in situations that maybe they wouldn't have been in before. That's the silver lining."
Belleville now faces Wisconsin Dells, the third-ranked team in Division 3. So far this season, the Wildcats have faced five teams ranked in the top 10.
"We set some goals at the beginning of the year and those are still attainable. We're pretty happy about that," Noll said.
