GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL - Fast start is the difference in Gilman’s win over Greenwood

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

Excellent ball movement and shooting Tuesday put the Gilman Pirates up 21-0 and that was a lead that didn’t really get any bigger, but it also was never in danger of fully disappearing in a 59-42 win over visiting Greenwood.

The victory broke a last-place tie in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference standings between the teams. Both entered the game 0-6 in the league standings.

The Pirates, now 5-9 overall, climbed out of the cellar behind 21 points and 11 rebounds from senior Joey Syryczuk and 18 points from sophomore Logan Halida, who both were on fire with their shooting in the first half.

As a team, Gilman shot 53.6% from the field in the first half (15 of 28) and finished at 42.6% (26 of 61).

Syryczuk provided the early spark, scoring Gilman’s first six points, four on mid-range shots and two off a steal. His next steal led to an assist to Halida, then the Pirates worked the ball to Halida at the top of the key and he drilled the first of his four first-half 3-pointers. Halida knocked a ball loose on the defensive and and Beau Pockat bounced a long pass ahead to Tony Syryczuk for a layup. That was followed by Halida’s second triple for a 16-0 lead.

Trevor Vick sank a 3-pointer from the right corner and Tony Syryczuk banked in a short shot high off the glass to complete the 21-point run that covered the game’s first 9:15 of the game.

The Indians got their first point on a Keagan Gipe free throw with 8:33 left in the half and Gipe got the first field goal 10 seconds later on a steal and he scored off another steal before Halida’s third 3-ball made it 24-5.

But from there, Gilman’s offense wasn’t quite as productive as Gilman head coach Tyler Pockat would’ve like. Turnovers crept in, the ball movement wasn’t as sharp and the shot selection also became questionable at times in the second half.

Gipe sank a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the first half to make it 36-17 at the break. The Indians crept within 14 at 4228 after a 3-pointer and then a long twopoint shot by Gipe. Max Ustianowski scooped in a tough shot in the lane and then worked a perfect give-and-go with the cutting Joey Syryczuk, who scored it at the rim to slow Greenwood’s momentum.

The Pirates got some good execution off some baseline inbound plays to salt the game away late.

Ustianowski scored nine of his 11 points in the second half and he had seven rebounds. Tony Syryczuk finished with six points, eight rebounds and five assists and Vick ended up with three points.

Gipe scored a game-high 22 points for the Indians, who fell to 3-11 overall.

The Pirates are back in conference play tonight, Thursday, at Colby, who beat them 67-50 back on Dec. 13. The rematch with Greenwood is Tuesday on the Indians’ home floor. Game times are 7:15 p.m.

O-W 86, Gilman 40

Coming in as heavy underdogs, Gilman stuck with Owen-Withee for about 11 minutes Friday before the Blackhawks got rolling and took care of business, running away with an 86-40 win on the Pirates’ home floor.

The win put Owen-Withee in a fourway atop the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference at 5-2. The Blackhawks, moved to 10-4 overall Monday with a win in Rib Lake.

Owen-Withee shot 51% from the field, knocked down 12 3-point shots and its defense eventually forced Gilman into too many mistakes, collecting 22 turnovers.

The Pirates didn’t have a bad shooting night, making 41% of their shots, but they didn’t get enough of them (16 of 39) and were three of 14 from 3-point range, keeping them from being able to come close to matching Owen-Withee over the course of 36 minutes.

Early on, the Pirates were solid. They burned 50 seconds on the opening possession and got a 3-pointer from Logan Halida to end it. Joey Syryczuk hit a couple of mid-range shots and Halida hit two more 3s. The Pirates weren’t bothered much early by Owen-Withee’s half-court trap and were within 24-17 following Halida’s last 3.

Things started to slip away when Owen-Withee finished the half on a 12-2 run to grab a 36-19 halftime lead. A barrage of five 3-pointers in the first fiveplus minutes of the second half fueled a 28-9 start to the second half that put the game out of reach.

Max Ustianowski led Gilman with 12 points on five-of-10 shooting. He had four rebounds and three assists. Halida ended up with nine points and two assists. He was three for four from long range. Joey Syryczuk and Beau Pockat scored six points each. Joey Syryczuk had 11 rebounds. Tony Syryczuk had four points and three assists. Dawson Grunseth had a three-point play in the second half.

Mason Gay paced the Blackhawks with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Dominic Sherwood had 17 points and five assists and Winston Poehler added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.