NEW GLARUS - A third-quarter run gave New Glarus' boys basketball team some breathing room Saturday afternoon against Barneveld.
But it didn't allow the Glarner Knights to breathe easy.
No one was surprised when the tough Silver Knights rallied, nearly erasing a 17-point deficit before New Glarus finally pulled away to a 54-41 win.
"They are very good ball team with some really good players," Knights head coach Travis Sysko said after having four of his players score in double figures in the victory.
Barneveld started the game dominating inside the arc. Senior forward Patrick Clerkin used his offensive lineman body and point guard skills to drive to the hole and pick up rebounds. He finished the game with a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds).
However, New Glarus has its own talented players. Jake Bast and Cassidy Flannery not only handle the ball against defenders, they can shoot it, too. Flannery scored the Knights' first 7 points and 10 of the first 12, including a pair of 3-pointers. Bast got in on the action in the second quarter, hitting a pair of big 3-pointers.
The Knights led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter and 22-20 by halftime. Flannery had all 10 of his points in the opening half and Bast had 8 of his 13 points at the break.
In the third quarter, New Glarus exploded. The Knights capitalized on Barneveld's miscues and soon held a 16-point advantage at 38-21 midway through the quarter.
"It was a big third quarter. I think our defensive intensity sparked it. We got some turnovers and some steals, converted them into some big baskets and 3-pointers and got a lot of momentum going our way," Sysko said.
Senior guard Logan Lockard scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter, adding that extra spark the Knights needed.
"That was huge. He got the crowd into it. It was a tight game up until that point. Logan's a streaky shooter, but when he's on, he's on, and I was glad to see he was on today," Sysko said.
"When teams scout us, I don't know who they pick out to stop because we have a bunch of guys who are all capable scorers and they spread the ball around well. As a coach, that's pretty great to have."
A technical foul against Clerkin with 4:39 left in the period initially seemed to spark New Glarus, but in the long run may have fired up his teammates, instead.
New Glarus scored five straight points after the technical, but Barneveld outscored the Glarner Knights 10-8 to close out the quarter and regain some momentum.
Trailing 46-31 to start the fourth, Barneveld knew it had some work to do. The Eagles pressured New Glarus' guards and took away big man Jeremy Langfoss (10 points, 11 rebounds).
Soon, behind the perfect shooting of guard Derec Mieden, the Eagles were back in the action. Mieden finished with 12 points, and was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
However, Barneveld (2-1, 1-0 Six Rivers East) could only cut the deficit to five points, 46-41, with 5:38 left.
Sysko called a timeout after the steal and hoop by Brad Zander (4 points) that cut the lead, and New Glarus got help on a drive by Lockard to stop the 10-0 run.
The big spark came with 2:05 to play with the score still sitting at 48-41 when Bass found Ryan Bright wide open in the left corner. Bright, who had seven points in the game, nailed the 3-pointer, and the Knights finished strong from there.
"They have a hell of a ball team. They have some very good ball players on that team. There's no quit in those guys. So they're going to make their runs, too. We were lucky to make ours first," Sysko said.
New Glarus (3-0, 2-0 Capitol South) travels to Belleville (2-1, 0-0) tonight.
But it didn't allow the Glarner Knights to breathe easy.
No one was surprised when the tough Silver Knights rallied, nearly erasing a 17-point deficit before New Glarus finally pulled away to a 54-41 win.
"They are very good ball team with some really good players," Knights head coach Travis Sysko said after having four of his players score in double figures in the victory.
Barneveld started the game dominating inside the arc. Senior forward Patrick Clerkin used his offensive lineman body and point guard skills to drive to the hole and pick up rebounds. He finished the game with a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds).
However, New Glarus has its own talented players. Jake Bast and Cassidy Flannery not only handle the ball against defenders, they can shoot it, too. Flannery scored the Knights' first 7 points and 10 of the first 12, including a pair of 3-pointers. Bast got in on the action in the second quarter, hitting a pair of big 3-pointers.
The Knights led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter and 22-20 by halftime. Flannery had all 10 of his points in the opening half and Bast had 8 of his 13 points at the break.
In the third quarter, New Glarus exploded. The Knights capitalized on Barneveld's miscues and soon held a 16-point advantage at 38-21 midway through the quarter.
"It was a big third quarter. I think our defensive intensity sparked it. We got some turnovers and some steals, converted them into some big baskets and 3-pointers and got a lot of momentum going our way," Sysko said.
Senior guard Logan Lockard scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter, adding that extra spark the Knights needed.
"That was huge. He got the crowd into it. It was a tight game up until that point. Logan's a streaky shooter, but when he's on, he's on, and I was glad to see he was on today," Sysko said.
"When teams scout us, I don't know who they pick out to stop because we have a bunch of guys who are all capable scorers and they spread the ball around well. As a coach, that's pretty great to have."
A technical foul against Clerkin with 4:39 left in the period initially seemed to spark New Glarus, but in the long run may have fired up his teammates, instead.
New Glarus scored five straight points after the technical, but Barneveld outscored the Glarner Knights 10-8 to close out the quarter and regain some momentum.
Trailing 46-31 to start the fourth, Barneveld knew it had some work to do. The Eagles pressured New Glarus' guards and took away big man Jeremy Langfoss (10 points, 11 rebounds).
Soon, behind the perfect shooting of guard Derec Mieden, the Eagles were back in the action. Mieden finished with 12 points, and was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
However, Barneveld (2-1, 1-0 Six Rivers East) could only cut the deficit to five points, 46-41, with 5:38 left.
Sysko called a timeout after the steal and hoop by Brad Zander (4 points) that cut the lead, and New Glarus got help on a drive by Lockard to stop the 10-0 run.
The big spark came with 2:05 to play with the score still sitting at 48-41 when Bass found Ryan Bright wide open in the left corner. Bright, who had seven points in the game, nailed the 3-pointer, and the Knights finished strong from there.
"They have a hell of a ball team. They have some very good ball players on that team. There's no quit in those guys. So they're going to make their runs, too. We were lucky to make ours first," Sysko said.
New Glarus (3-0, 2-0 Capitol South) travels to Belleville (2-1, 0-0) tonight.
