Pirates unable to add to their win total this week

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

Gilman’s boys basketball team fell to 3-10 overall for the season when it dropped a 61-52 non-conference contest at Bruce.

The loss was the team’s third straight and came against a team that is on the Pirates’ side of this year’s sectional bracket. The Red Raiders got 20 points from Chris Brockman and improved to 9-6 for the year with the win.

Gilman countered with 25 points from its leading scorer Andrew Hecker. He hit a trio of 3-point shots and scored 15 points in the first half, while Blake Wisocky, Jordan Goebel and Isaac Wininger added 3s to keep the Pirates close through 18 minutes.

The Pirates trailed 34-29 at the break as Chris Brockman had 11 points and Dan Brockman and Brady Gauthier each had nine in the half for Bruce.

The game remained close in the second half, but Bruce continued to hold the lead late and sealed the game from the free throw line. Chris Brockman hit six of eight second-half free throws himself and the team was nine of 17 in the half.

Wisocky added another triple and scored eight points for Gilman. Ethan Grunseth had five first-half points and finished with seven. Wininger had five points in the loss, Zack Marion scored four second-half points and Goebel finished with three.

Dan Brockman finished with 14 points for Bruce.

The Pirates have a tough matchup tonight, Thursday, as they host conference-leading Neillsville. The Warriors are 9-0 in league play and hold a one-game lead over Spencer.

Gilman will host Lake Holcombe Monday in the rescheduled date of a Jan. 17 postponement and will head to Colby on Tuesday. Gilman goes to Spencer on Feb. 7.

Loyal 66, Gilman 49

Loyal guard Kole Bogdonovich has been torching most teams the Greyhounds have played this winter and Gilman was the next on the list Friday in the Pirates’ 66-49 loss.

Bogdonovich scored 27 points in the first half alone and finished with 31 as the Greyhounds completed a season sweep of Gilman. He drilled six 3-point shots in the first half as Loyal tore out to a 46-26 lead.

Gilman outscored Loyal 23-20 in the second half but it wasn’t nearly enough to threaten the Greyhounds, who improved to 5-4 in league play and 9-5 overall.

Hecker had a strong offensive night too, scoring 26 points for Gilman. He had 15 of those in the first half. Grunseth also had a solid night for the Pirates, scoring 13 points, nine of which came after halftime.

Goebel and Wininger scored three points each, while Wisocky and Marion each made a first-half basket.

Loyal made 10 3-point shots in the win and got 11 points from Daymian Baird and nine from Trevyn Wil- ke.

The Pirates fell to 2-7 in the conference standings.

Greenwood 87, Gilman 45

When Gilman beat Greenwood’s press early, the Pirates stayed in the game. But when their ball handling started to struggle midway through the first half, the game got away quickly in an 87-45 loss at Greenwood on Jan. 21.

When the Indians’ first-half blitz was over, they led 50-21 and were well on their way to breaking Gilman’s mini two-game winning streak.

“We had a hard time scoring and their pressure got to us,” Gilman head coach Wade Hendricks said. “They pressed out of the gate and we handled it well at first, but then it got out of hand around the 10- to eight-minute mark of the first half.”

The turnovers and transition game led to a big night for Greenwood’s Westen Schmitz, who scored 38 points, including 24 in the first half alone. Cooper Bredlau added 12 points in the half as Greenwood completed the first half of Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play at 6-2. Bredlau finished with 16 points.

Hecker had another solid game for the Pirates, pumping in 21 points. He had 10 of Gilman’s first-half points and added 11 more in the second half on five field goals.

Wininger scored eight points, his second-highest total of the season. That included a pair of 3-pointers, one in each half. Peyton Heiman scored seven points and Grunseth added five. Goebel chipped in with four points.

Each team made five 3-point baskets and Greenwood had only a slight edge in free throws, making eight of 17 while the Pirates were six of eight. But the turnovers and transition scores allowed Greenwood to make 32 two-point shots, while Gilman made only 12.