GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL - Loggers run past Gilman Pirates
GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL
If you turn the basketball over against the Phillips girls, you’re going to be in trouble. When you let them get out and run, it’s double trouble.
The Gilman Pirates found that out Monday in a 93-33 non-conference defeat on the Loggers’ home floor. The Pirates actually got off to a strong start and led 10-8 four minutes in.
But the turnovers and transition baskets kicked in after that, not to mention the Loggers also shot well from 3-point range, and it turned into a blowout for the 12-2 Loggers.
Gilman, who played without starter Claire Drier, fell to 6-9.
The Pirates got their opening 10 points after Phillips scored the game’s first six. Addy Vick hit a mid-range shot, Danielle Mann sank a 3. After Kacy Eggebrecht got free on the baseline and scored for Phillips, Jaylyn Orth scored inside for Gilman and Mann swished another 3 to put Gilman on top –– for 13 seconds.
The Loggers took over the game with a 33-2 blast that included two 3s and 12 points from Mataya Eckert, a three-point play by Kendra Timmers and 10 points from Eggebrecht, most of which came in transition off turnovers. Eggebrecht led all scorers in the game with 27 points.
Not only did Phillips get up 41-12 following that run, Mann, Gilman’s leading scorer, picked up three fouls in the latter stages of the half and went to the bench with four with 2:23 still to play in the first half.
Somehow, Mann never did pick up her fifth and finished the game with 13 points.
Orth’s lob pass gave Mann an inside score and Kayleigh James added four points to slow the Loggers temporarily, but the home team led 50-20 at halftime.
The Loggers scored the first 20 points of the second half before James finally drilled a triple. Allie Olynick and Mann hit 3s as well before the running clock brought the game to a quick end.
James scored nine points for the Pirates, Olynick scored five and Aubrey Steinbach, Orth and Vick finished with two each.
Eckert scored 14 of her 21 points in the first half for the Loggers, while Timmers, Alie Williams and Halle Lehman also hit GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL
The Gilman Pirates are certainly an improved boys basketball team, but being able to slow down the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference’s elite team isn’t within reach just yet.
Wisconsin’s second-ranked Division 5 team, according to the latest polls, Columbus Catholic, tore up the Pirates quickly Tuesday night, shooting 63.6% from the field in the first half, including a surgical 11-for-18 half from 3-point range and put a quick end to the suspense in an 85-21 win in Marshfield.
Gilman did have a lead, 2-0 on Caleb Marion’s score courtesy of a Joey Syryczuk baseline inbound lob pass, but the seniorladen Dons scored the next 32 points to put this one securely into the win column.
Eighteen of those early points came on 3s. Gilman dared the Dons to take them by coming out in a 1-3-1 zone and they hit them. If they weren’t hitting 3s, the Dons were scoring in transition and/or off turnovers while taking a 54-15 halftime lead.
The Pirates had a few offensive highlights in the half. Marion had four points inside, Joey Syryczuk also scored twice, Beau Pockat hit the Pirates’ lone 3-pointer of the night and Tony Syryczuk got a backcourt steal after Pockat’s 3 and scored.
Columbus Catholic (7-0, 13-1) cooled off a bit in the running-clock shortened second half, but still hit six of 14 3-point tries while outscoring the Pirates 33-6.
Pockat led Gilman with five points. Marion had four points and seven rebounds, while Joey Syryczuk finished with four points and three boards. Brayden Olynick, Adam Draeger, Dalton Wisocky and Tony Syryczuk scored two points each. Tony Syryczuk had four rebounds and three steals. Logan Halida had two assists.
Columbus Catholic’s scoring was quite balanced. The Dons’ top gun, Emmitt Konieczny, hit four of five 3-point tries and scored 14 points in limited action as he is working his way back into form after a lengthy absence due to injury. Charlie Moore scored 10, while Mac Konieczny, Nathan Nemitz, Alex Edwards, Blake Jakobi scored eight apiece.
Gilman (1-6, 2-11) starts the second round of Eastern Cloverbelt play Friday by visiting Owen-Withee for a 7:15 p.m. tip time. The Pirates will host Colby in league play on Jan. 25. A Monday nonconference game at New Auburn has been canceled as the Trojans had to make up a conference game on that date.
Gilman’s non-conference home game with Bruce that was postponed on Friday has been rescheduled for Jan. 29.
Spencer 62, Gilman 58
While Gilman has made significant strides this season, one area the Pirates still haven’t gotten much experience in yet is closing out close games. One such game was there for the taking Thursday, but Gilman couldn’t quite finish the job and dropped a 62-58 home heartbreaker to Spencer.
Gilman trailed through most of the first half but battled back to tie it at 31-31 on Pockat’s long 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Pirates scored the first seven points of the second half and, after Spencer tied things up, Gilman took another five-point lead with 4:50 left.
But the Rockets came back one more time, took the lead on a 3-pointer from freshman Weston Nieman with 1:17 left and then got in front for good on a Sam Bezlyk basket with 1:05 left to slide past Gilman in the Eastern Cloverbelt standings. Both teams entered the game at 1-4 in league play.
Halida sparked Gilman’s 9-2 run to start the second half, hitting two pull-up jumpers and stealing the ball in the backcourt and getting it to Tony Syryczuk for a layup that made it 38-31 with 13:50 to play. Noah Anderson hit a 3-pointer for the Rockets, but Olynick came right back with a triple of his own for a 41-34 Gilman lead.
Anderson’s next 3 tied the game at 4444 with 8:12 left, but Gilman got a Pockat 3. Spencer tied it, but Pockat’s offensive rebound led to a Sawyer Winger 3 that put the Pirates back on top at 50-47. Joey Syryczuk’s driving score gave Gilman a 52-47 lead and had its home crowd buzzing.
However, Carter Luepke got loose down low and Bezlyk found him for an easy score. Mathers McHone hit a short shot in the lane to cut Gilman’s lead to one with 3:40 left. Joey Syryczuk’s rebound basket made it 54-51 with 3:10 to go, but an Anderson free throw at the mark and Nieman’s big 3, which followed a Pirate turnover, gave the Rockets a 55-54 edge. Halida hit one of two free throws to tie it. Bezlyk followed with his score from the low block.
The Pirates missed two good looks, then Spencer was able to salt it away by hitting five of six free throws in the final 42 seconds.
Spencer jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Gilman’s bigs set a tone by finding holes in Spencer’s 1-2-2 and 2-3 zone looks in the first half and grabbing the majority of Gilman’s 12 first-half offensive rebounds. A 10-0 run started with inside baskets by Max Ustianowski and Wisocky. Joey Syryczuk and Halida hit baseline jumpers, then Ustianowski saved a ball from going out of bounds and got it to Olynick for a bucket to tie it at 15-15 The Rockets surged back ahead by seven, but Gilman closed the half with a 12-5 run that included a Joey Syryczuk 3 and the buzzer-beater by Pockat.
Joey Syryczuk had one of his best games of the season, scoring 11 points to go with six rebounds before he fouled out in the final seconds. Halida scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists. Pockat had eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
Ustianowski and Olynick scored six points each, Marion chipped in with five, Tony Syryczuk and Wisocky scored four apiece and Winger added his 3. Marion had eight rebounds. Ustianowski had three assists.
Gilman outrebounded Spencer 41-25 and had 18 offensive boards. Not quite enough of those boards turned into putbacks and Gilman struggled from the free throw line, making seven of 18. Spencer was 15 of 27 at the line. The shot chart shows Gilman making 13 of 31 shots in the paint. But, Gilman’s 42.6% success from the field overall was its second-best mark of the season.
Bezlyk led four Rockets in double figures with 18 points and he had nine rebounds and six assists. Nieman scored 12.
