Loyal boys show successful team play vs. Regis

By Valorie Brecht The Loyal High School varsity boys basketball team ended its regular season on a high note by defeating the Eau Claire Regis Ramblers at home last Thursday. The Cloverbelt crossover game was an excellent display of the growth the boys have shown over the course of the season, said their coach.

“I’m just really proud of how far our team has come… To start this year, we lost some really close games and they never wavered, and they just stayed strong together. And we put a really nice second half of the season together,” said coach Brandon DeSmet.

The team lost nine of its first 12 games. Conversely, the team won eight of its latter 12 games, including a three-game winning streak against Owen-Withee, Greenwood and Regis to close out the regular season.

Heading into the game against Regis, Loyal was ranked fifth in the Cloverbelt-East with an 8-6 record, while Regis was fifth in the Cloverbelt-West with a 7-7 record, causing fans to anticipate a close matchup, and that it was.

The game began with Loyal’s four seniors hitting the court: Hudson Hanson, Isaac Jakobi, Jacob Schill and Landyn Johnston, along with sophomore Reed Stieglitz to round out the starting lineup. One of those players wasted no time in scoring. Schill hit one of his patented threes from the corner, 20 seconds into the game. A few moments later, Stieglitz put in a layup and the Greyhounds were off to the races, 5-0, in just the first minute. It didn’t take long for Regis to respond, though, with the team’s leading scorer Owen Weisenberger putting in 2 less than 30 seconds later. Stieglitz answered with a mid-range jumper, but on the Ramblers’ next possession, they took the ball down the court and quickly scored 2.

Over the next few minutes, Loyal pulled ahead but it was short-lived. The Ramblers rallied back and at 9:20, managed to tie it up with the Hounds at 14. After another shot from Weisenberger, the Ramblers went ahead for the first time in the game, 16-14. Over the next few minutes, Regis got aggressive on defense, even double-teaming Loyal at one point, while Loyal struggled to get inside and had a few shots that just wouldn’t fall.

DeSmet called a timeout at 6:29 to regroup. Whatever he said during the timeout must have worked, because after the break, Loyal came out with renewed vigor. The Greyhounds quickly scored off a turnaround jump shot from Rhett Lamovec. The teams tied at 16 points and again at 18 and 20.

Loyal got the final say of the half, though. At 2:34 left, Schill hit another corner three, and repeated that move a minute later. However, with just under a minute left, the Ramblers’ George Wolterstorff made a free throw, but that was all the more they would add to their point total. However, Loyal had one more basket to make. Stieglitz, who showed a lot of energy and zip around the court, put in a layup with 40 seconds left. Regis called a timeout, but after the timeout, Loyal’s Bryce Deegan stole the ball away from Regis and passed it to his teammate Landyn Johnston, who fired off a 3-point attempt just before the buzzer sounded. The ball got stuck between the hoop and the backboard, making for a unique ending to the half.

Although not a comfortable lead by any means, the Greyhounds were up 28-21 at halftime.

The second half opened with a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer from the Ramblers, bringing the score to 28-26. But that was the closest Regis would get to tying the score for the rest of the game. Loyal got things rolling again with 2-point baskets from Cain Toufar, Joe Treffinger and a three from Stieglitz to go up 35-26. As the half continued, the Greyhounds were able to extend that lead all the way to 15 points. Regis brought it back a little bit, but ran out of time and the Greyhounds took the 61-50 victory.

Stieglitz led his team in scoring, bringing in more than a third of the Greyhounds’ points with 22, well above his average of 8.2 points per game (per WisSports.net). He knocked down three 3-pointers and six 2-pointers, plus scored a free throw. Schill was next with 11 points, landing three 3s and one 2-pointer. Deegan picked up 10 points, all from 2-pointers. Toufar scored 6, Isaac Jakobi had 4, Hunter Walter had 4, and Lamovec and Treffinger each had 2.

Senior recognition With it being the last regular season home game, DeSmet took the time to recognize the four seniors and their growth as athletes. Special for this graduating class is the fact that DeSmet started as Loyal coach when this group were freshmen, so he got to watch them develop over their time in high school.

DeSmet started by honoring Hanson, whom he said showed a lot of strength and physicality on the basketball court. He said Hanson’s strong frame made it “really hard” to box him out.

“Hudson was never shy about letting his physical presence shine during games and practices. His consistent effort, combined with his size, helped him become a very good rebounder. You could see that against Gillman his senior year when he came in to grab some really big rebounds at a point in time during the game when Gilman was getting too many easy points off of rebounds,” DeSmet wrote in a program insert for the basketball game.

“However, what I will remember most about Hudson is how he took a young freshman under his wing this year, and made sure to do all our dribble and passing drills with him to start this year, making sure that the freshman boy had a great experience.”

Jakobi was the next senior to be honored. DeSmet said that Jakobi showed determination, confidence and a competitive nature playing basketball.

“He isn’t afraid to guard players taller than him, dive on the floor for loose balls, or be a physical presence. Even on tough shooting nights, Isaac doesn’t lose confidence. This was evident against Pittsville his senior year when he stole a ball late in the second half, balanced falling out of bounds, and then took the ball full court for a layup that gave us a lead late in the game,” DeSmet wrote.

“What Isaac values more than anything is hard work; he doesn’t shy away from that… He’s shown that hard work in the past couple weeks. When he first started going through (the program), he had to learn how to deal with the bigs being a little bit bigger than him. And you saw tonight how he has that really patient right hand hook where he just waits that half-second and it goes right in.”

DeSmet turned his attention to Schill next. He said it was evident from the start that Schill was going to be a good shooter, and he’s turned out to be the best shooter he’s coached.

“Jacob has never been afraid to take a big shot. This was evident his sophomore year when Jacob made a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to take a lead late in the game against Blair-Taylor and just recently when he made five 3-point baskets against Spencer, four of which came in the first half,” DeSmet wrote.

Schill has also learned how to defend well, said DeSmet. “You saw that with Kaden Anderson from Auburndale, who was getting to the free throw line every possession against us, a big physical guard. And he (Schill) goes to him and the second half, I don’t think he went there more than twice.

“Most important, Jacob has learned how to balance his competitiveness with being patient with his game and his team. We have a very young team and he was completely patient with every single one of his guys. At practice, he’ll go to those guys and build them up and talk about different things he’s noticing. And they go to it and love it.”

Finally, DeSmet shared some things he’s observed about Landyn Johnston.

“In the last four years, the amount of growth Landyn has shown is quite impressive. During his freshman year, I’m not sure that Landyn would have predicted that during his senior year he would make important 3-pointers in a varsity basketball game, like the 3-pointers he hit at Athens, at the end of the first half against Gilman or most recently in the right corner at Colby in the first half.

“Landyn has no fear of getting beat on defense. His teammates call him ‘clamps’ for his willingness to guard players on the perimeter.

“Most importantly though, Landyn is one of the most team-first players I have ever coached, and that is why he is a captain this year. I will always remember how much our players and students rally around Landyn and enjoy being around him. His constant enthusiasm, optimism, effort and willingness to learn will help take Landyn far, especially after his senior year is over.”

The four seniors each received a gift bag, artwork and a basketball signed by all of their teammates. They also presented DeSmet with a gift.

The Loyal boys started playoff action at Pittsville on Tuesday, which was after deadline.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO