GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL - 3-point spree stops the run, lifts Pirates to 1st win

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

Two weeks ago, two second-half leads got away from the Gilman Pirates in each of their first two games of the season in frustrating losses to Flambeau and Lake Holcombe.

When it looked like it may happen again Tuesday, the Pirates decided they’d had enough.

A team that doesn’t typically make a living with outside shooting, Gilman sank six 3pointers in a six-minute span to answer a big run by New Auburn and send the Pirates to their first win of 202425, a 71-57 nonconference win over the visiting Trojans. Sophomore Beau Pockat scored his new varsity-high of 26 points, Tony Syryczuk and Max Ustianowski hit double figures with 15 and 14 points respectively as Gilman, now 1-4 overall, dropped the Trojans to 3-2.

“Life is good when the ball goes in the hole,” Gilman head coach Tyler Pockat said. “That run we made with all the 3s was a great response to losing a big lead. In that moment, kids can respond one way or another and we were fortunate they kept their heads on and responded with a huge run to kinda put the game away for us.”

In a game filled with fouls and turnovers, especially in the first half, it was tough for either team to find a real flow. Gilman finally got on a roll late in the half, getting nine points from Pockat and a basket each from Ustianowski and Logan Halida in a 15-4 run that put the Pirates up 41-27 at halftime.

New Auburn came out in a 1-3-1 zone in the second half and it rattled the Pirates at first. New Auburn got some steals and got the ball inside to Elliot Harder, who scored eight points in a 17-2 surge that gave the visitors a 44-43 lead.

The lead only lasted a few seconds as Syryczuk hit a 3-ball from the left corner with 11:45 left. He hit another one 45 seconds later, then Pockat and Halida sank triples for a 5547 Gilman lead with 7:45 to play. Not long after that, Pockat hit another 3, Joey Syryczuk’s aggressive drive to the rim got two points and Pockat hit one more 3-ball to give the Pirates a 63-49 lead.

“During the course of a game there are so many highs and lows and our guys kinda weathered the storm through,” Tyler Pockat said. “I’m so proud of their willingness to stick to the plan and give great effort. This group has the talent to do great things on the floor. We just have to put it all together for two halves and cut down the turnovers and I like our chances.”

Halida scored eight points in the win, Joey Syryczuk had six and he had a nice assist to Connor Nichols for a key basket that made it 65-53 after New Auburn had scored a couple to grab a little momentum.

Colten Lotts led New Auburn with 17 points. Harder finished with 14, 12 of which came in the second half.

“Just to have shots fall for some of our guys sure helps the confidence as a group and gets the team in the right position at the end of the game,” Tyler Pockat said. “Really, we have been there three times so far this season and we finally finished. It’s fun to watch the progression from where we were last year at this time. I have seen a big step in the right direction.”

Gilman hoped to make it a winning streak Thursday in an Eastern Cloverbelt Conference road trip to Greenwood, a team it beat twice last year. The Pirates will play once during the holiday week, traveling to Bruce for a 7:15 p.m. game on Friday, Dec. 27.

Missing two seniors from their normal rotation Friday, the Pirates made some runs at visiting Colby, but the Hornets had a bit too much size and experience and took home a 67-50 Eastern Cloverbelt Conference win.

Gilman got 15 points apiece from Joey Syryczuk and Beau Pockat. Pockat scored 14 of his points in the second half, including four 3-pointers. Syryczuk completed a double-double with 10 rebounds as he, Tony Syryczuk, Dawson Grunseth and Halida had to log heavy minutes for the depleted Pirates.

The Pirates sank eight 3s compared to Colby’s five and both teams turned the basketball over 17 times. The difference was inside where the Hornets outrebounded Gilman 51-34 and outscored Gilman 34-14 with points in the paint.

Miguel Morillon, a 6-1 senior, got to the rim for a game-high 18 points, while 5-11 junior Reed Fleischmann added 15 points and six rebounds. Colby’s 6-7 senior Tucker Hayes scored eight points and grabbed 10 boards.

The Pirates matched Colby shot for shot in the first 10 minutes. Joey Syryczuk had five early points and Tony Syryczuk had six to help forge a 13-13 tie. Colby’s Braiden Johnson broke that tie with a 3pointer and later hit another to make it 23-17. Nichols hit his first 3 of the season to get Gilman within 27-22, but Morillon drove the lane and scored and then, after Gilman turned the ball over on an offensive foul with 2.1 seconds left, Morillon was left open and swished a baseline jumper at the buzzer from the left side to give Colby a 31-22 lead.

Joey Syryczuk and Pockat drilled 3balls to pull the Pirates within 33-28 early in the second half. Syryczuk missed another that would’ve made it a two-point game. Instead, Colby went on 13-0 run that ultimately gave it the cushion it needed to get its first win of the season, though 3s by Pockat and Joey Syryczuk made it interesting for a moment at 52-39 with seven minutes left.

Tony Syryczuk scored eight points, dished out six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Halida and Nichols finished with four points each. Halida had four rebounds and three steals. Nichols had three rebounds. Grunseth had three points, four rebounds and two assists. Wyatt Orth made a late free throw.