GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL - Gilman’s good offensive night outdone by Spencer; Loyal avoids upset

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

The Gilman Pirates got things working inside and broke full-court pressure about as well as it has at any time this season Tuesday, but they had no answers for Sam Bezlyk and the Spencer Rockets, who answered every run the Pirates made and pulled away for a 72-59 win.

Bezlyk hit 13 of 17 shots from the field, whether they were mid-range jumpers, post moves at the block or fadeaways in the lane to score 31 points, plus he grabbed 10 rebounds. Weston Nieman added 13 points and the rest of the Rockets scored just enough to keep the Pirates at bay, dropping them to 2-11 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference and 3-18 overall.

Spencer bumped to 4-9, 7-1 while completing a season sweep of the Pirates in two closely-contested ball games.

The Pirates got an outstanding game from junior post Brayden Olynick, who had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Caleb Marion led Gilman in scoring with 16 points and added seven rebounds.

Those two, with Max Ustianowski sprinkled in, broke down Spencer’s zone defense often with some outstanding short corner and high-low action at times. Olynick also did scoring damage with his eight offensive rebounds.

Gilman’s 59 points were a season-high for the team, one point better than the Pirates scored in a 62-58 loss to Spencer on Jan. 11.

Both offenses clicked in an entertaining first half. Spencer led most of the way, but 3-point shots by Beau Pockat and Joey Syryczuk put the Pirates briefly on top 21-19. The Rockets came back with a 10-0 run that ultimately put them up for good. Bezlyk had six of those points.

Marion went on a personal seven-point run by making four straight free throws and then converting a three-point play with 3:37 left to pull Gilman within 31-28. It was 35-28 at the break.

Gilman trailed by nine early in the second half and then made a run. Olynick sank a 3, got a putback and then got a high-low assist to Marion. Logan Halida then found Olynick ahead of the pack in transition for a layup that cut Spencer’s lead to 40-38. Nieman hit a 3 that was answered by Marion’s stickback that made it 43-40, but that’s when Gilman’s shooting cooled off and the Rockets made a push that got them too far ahead for the Pirates to catch up.

The lead got to 61-45 when the Pirates made one last push, getting a triple from Pockat, scores from Tony Syryczuk and Halida and then two more Olynick buckets to get within 63-56 with less than three minutes to go, but that was as close as Gilman got.

Pockat’s three 3s gave him nine points, Halida scored seven and had seven rebounds and six assists and Dalton Wisocky added five points. Joey Syryczuk had three points and eight rebounds. Tony Syryczuk and Ustianowski had two points each.

Gilman shot 34.8% (23 of 66) from the field, one of its best percentages of the year and hit six of 20 3-pointers. The Pirates grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Rockets overall 4336. Eighteen turnovers led to a 17-7 advantage for Spencer in points off turnovers.

Gilman closes out Eastern Cloverbelt play Friday by hosting 21-1 Columbus Catholic at 7:15 p.m. The Dons are the state’s top-ranked Division 5 team according to the WisSports.net state coaches poll and the Associated Press. The regular season ends Feb. 22 with Gilman hosting the seventh-place game of the Cloverbelt Conference crossovers, also at 7:15 p.m. Thorp is the likely opponent for that game.

Loyal 52, Gilman 42

The Pirates gave visiting Loyal a scare Thursday, but the Greyhounds’ ability to get good looks inside and free throw shooting were the difference in Loyal’s 5242 win.

Thirteen of Loyal’s 20 made field goals came on either the left or right blocks in the lane and that helped the Greyhounds offset the five 3-point shots Gilman hit, helping the Pirates stay in it. Also, Gilman limited its turnovers to 12 and scrapped for 11 second-chance points.

The Pirates, though, made one of eight free throws, a stat that got magnified in what was a one-possession game going into the final minute.

Gilman never led but also never fell too far behind until Loyal hit seven of nine free throws in the last 59 seconds.

Loyal, a 46-24 winner over Gilman on Jan. 5, threatened to pull away midway through the first half. Reed Stieglitz scored cutting through the lane and Rhett Lamovec turned one offensive rebound into a three-point play and another into an assist to Isaac Jacobi to give Loyal a 20-10 lead with 6:28 left. Olynick sparked a little run by the Pirates, scoring off a Marion assist and then hitting a 3-pointer. His second 3 of the half made it 24-20 before Loyal’s Bryce Deegan ended the half by cutting along the baseline and scoring at the rim off an assist from Cain Toufar.

Loyal scored the first four points of the second half to go back up by 10, but Gilman countered with a 9-0 run. Marion scored in transition, Pockat got a loose ball in the lane and put it in, then he hit a 3. Halida’s baseline jumper made it 30-29 with 12:50 to play.

Loyal took its biggest lead at 43-31 following a good post move by Toufar and a Lamovec layup off a Steglitz assist. Pockat’s 3-pointer started one last push by the Pirates. They got a bucket from Olynick and then a 3-pointer from Joey Syryczuk to cut Loyal’s lead to 45-41. Olynick added a free throw to make it 45-42 with 1:31 left.

Tony Syryczuk missed a free throw with 57 seconds left, but Olynick got the rebound. His shot, however was blocked, and Halida missed a follow-up shot. Deegan hit two free throws to give Loyal a 47-42 lead with 49.5 seconds left. Joey Syryczuk’s shot was blocked leading to two Steiglitz free throws and a seven-point lead with 37.3 seconds left.

Olynick led Gilman with 11 points and seven rebounds. Pockat had 10 points and Halida scored eight and had three assists. Joey Syryczuk scored five points and had five rebounds and three assists. Marion had four points, Tony Syryczuk had two points, five rebounds and three assists and Ustianowski added a hoop.

Deegan led Loyal with 13 points and six rebounds. Toufar had 10 points and six boards. Loyal shot 45.5% from the field (20 of 44). Gilman shot 37.5% (18 of 48) and hit five of 11 3-pointers.