NEW GLARUS - It would be one thing if New Glarus senior Tyler Kreklow noticed a major talent gap between the Glarner Knights and the Cambridge boys basketball team.
He doesn't.
That's part of what made New Glarus' 61-46 loss to the Blue Jays in a key Capitol South Conference game Thursday night so maddening.
With a chance to secure a share of the league title, the Glarner Knights fell behind 8-0 to start the game and later endured a 15-0 Cambridge run that gave the Blue Jays (13-7, 7-2 Capitol South) complete control and a season sweep of New Glarus (11-9, 7-2).
"It's tough to deal with," Kreklow said. "We really wanted to win that. That's the fourth time they've beaten us in the last (two seasons). It's frustrating. That's how it's been the last couple years - we just can't find a way to win (against Cambridge)."
Senior Devin Bartz scored the game's first six points and finished with a team-high 16 for Cambridge, which never trailed. But it was Johnathan Barnes who delivered the biggest blow for the visitors.
With the game tied at 37, Barnes scored seven straight points to start a 15-0 Cambridge run that covered the last 5 minutes, 15 seconds of the third quarter and the first minute of the fourth and gave the Blue Jays a 52-37 lead.
Barnes scored 10 of his 14 points after the break.
"My coach wanted me to stay out of foul trouble," Barnes said of Cambridge coach John Leadholm. "He told me to play my game, don't try to do too much and let the game come to me. When I got the open shots, I took them."
New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said the seven-minute scoring drought was as much what his team did as it was Cambridge's defense.
"We started rushing it a little bit on offense," Sysko said. "One of the things we talked about was not taking contested shots. I thought we forced some shots up here and there in that 15-0 run."
The Glarner Knights cut their deficit to eight points twice in middle of the fourth quarter, but went scoreless for another four-minute stretch to close the game. Cambridge scored the game's final seven points from the free throw line.
The Blue Jays shot 47 percent (22 of 47) from the field while the Glarner Knights struggled to 28 percent (16 of 57) shooting - including a
5-for-25 effort in the second half.
Barnes said Cambridge's defense was the difference in his squad posting the 15-point win Thursday after surviving 62-61 against New Glarus on Jan. 24.
"We played defense from the first to the fourth quarter," Barnes said. "We slacked a little bit in the third quarter the last time we played them and they made a comeback. But this time, we played all the way through and held our defense together."
Kreklow hit 4 of his 5 attempts from 3-point range in the first half, when he scored 15 points. But Cambridge's Nic Bowe and Brock DeForest helped held Kreklow to four points after the break.
Senior guard Riley Miller added 11 points for New Glarus, which can still gain a title share on Tuesday by winning at Marshall (17-3, 8-1). The Glarner Knights beat the Cardinals 55-54 on Jan. 27.
Sysko fully expects his club to bounce back.
"This has been a pretty loose group all year," he said. "We'll be fine. Let's go up there (to Marshall) and see what happens next week."
He doesn't.
That's part of what made New Glarus' 61-46 loss to the Blue Jays in a key Capitol South Conference game Thursday night so maddening.
With a chance to secure a share of the league title, the Glarner Knights fell behind 8-0 to start the game and later endured a 15-0 Cambridge run that gave the Blue Jays (13-7, 7-2 Capitol South) complete control and a season sweep of New Glarus (11-9, 7-2).
"It's tough to deal with," Kreklow said. "We really wanted to win that. That's the fourth time they've beaten us in the last (two seasons). It's frustrating. That's how it's been the last couple years - we just can't find a way to win (against Cambridge)."
Senior Devin Bartz scored the game's first six points and finished with a team-high 16 for Cambridge, which never trailed. But it was Johnathan Barnes who delivered the biggest blow for the visitors.
With the game tied at 37, Barnes scored seven straight points to start a 15-0 Cambridge run that covered the last 5 minutes, 15 seconds of the third quarter and the first minute of the fourth and gave the Blue Jays a 52-37 lead.
Barnes scored 10 of his 14 points after the break.
"My coach wanted me to stay out of foul trouble," Barnes said of Cambridge coach John Leadholm. "He told me to play my game, don't try to do too much and let the game come to me. When I got the open shots, I took them."
New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said the seven-minute scoring drought was as much what his team did as it was Cambridge's defense.
"We started rushing it a little bit on offense," Sysko said. "One of the things we talked about was not taking contested shots. I thought we forced some shots up here and there in that 15-0 run."
The Glarner Knights cut their deficit to eight points twice in middle of the fourth quarter, but went scoreless for another four-minute stretch to close the game. Cambridge scored the game's final seven points from the free throw line.
The Blue Jays shot 47 percent (22 of 47) from the field while the Glarner Knights struggled to 28 percent (16 of 57) shooting - including a
5-for-25 effort in the second half.
Barnes said Cambridge's defense was the difference in his squad posting the 15-point win Thursday after surviving 62-61 against New Glarus on Jan. 24.
"We played defense from the first to the fourth quarter," Barnes said. "We slacked a little bit in the third quarter the last time we played them and they made a comeback. But this time, we played all the way through and held our defense together."
Kreklow hit 4 of his 5 attempts from 3-point range in the first half, when he scored 15 points. But Cambridge's Nic Bowe and Brock DeForest helped held Kreklow to four points after the break.
Senior guard Riley Miller added 11 points for New Glarus, which can still gain a title share on Tuesday by winning at Marshall (17-3, 8-1). The Glarner Knights beat the Cardinals 55-54 on Jan. 27.
Sysko fully expects his club to bounce back.
"This has been a pretty loose group all year," he said. "We'll be fine. Let's go up there (to Marshall) and see what happens next week."
