GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL - Pirates lose contact with Loggers and Warriors in second halves

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

The Gilman Pirates did some good offensive work in the first half Monday, but when Phillips turned up its perimeter pressure in the second half, the host Loggers broke the non-conference game open quickly and surged to a 63-51 win.

Beau Pockat had a big first half for the Pirates getting to the rim and knocking down mid-range jumpers to score 15 points. Gilman had several four-point leads in the half and was still within 27-26 after Max Ustianowski put back a missed free throw by Dawson Grunseth with 3:07 left. Pockat’s late free throws had Gilman within 31-28 at the half and he hit one free throw after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to start the second half, pulling the Pirates within 31-29.

Unfortunately, Gilman (6-12) didn’t get any closer.

Phillips first went to a 1-3-1 zone out of the half that focused on ball pressure around the 3-point line. That forced a couple of missed 3s and some ball handling miscues as the Loggers went ahead 39-29. The Loggers switched back to a man-to-man, and after Joey Syryczuk drained two 3-pointers to get Gilman within 39-35, they went on a 14-0 gamebreaking run behind a string of steals, as well as two 3-pointers from Phillips guard JJ Heikkinen to take a 53-35 lead.

Gilman got within 61-49 with just under four minutes left after back-to-back 3s from Trevor Vick and Pockat, but Heikkinen’s driving score with 2:39 left put the Loggers back up by five possessions.

Gilman turned the ball over 19 times, which Phillips turned in to 29 points.

Joey Syryczuk scored 14 of Gilman’s 23 second-half points and wound up leading the team with 20. Pockat wound up with 18. Vick scored five, Tony Syrczuk scored four and Ustianowski chipped in with three points.

The Syryczuks both grabbed nine rebounds. Logan Halida had four boards and four assists. Tony Syryczuk had six steals and three assists. Pockat also had three assists.

Heikkinen led the Loggers (12-6) with 17 points, while Brayden Revak added 14. Shay Denzine had eight points and 14 rebounds.

It’s all about Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play now for the Pirates in their next four games. Gilman is at Loyal tonight, Thursday, and hosts the Spencer Rockets on Tuesday. Gilman will wrap up league play with back-to-back games against Columbus Catholic Feb. 21 and 24.

Warriors 61, Pirates 35

In Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play Friday, Gilman hung right with visiting Neillsville for a half, but the Warriors pushed a three-point lead to double digits two minutes into the second half and never looked back in their 61-35 win.

Andrew Hoeser scored 18 of his gamehigh 25 points in the second half to help Neillsville stay on the fringe of the conference title race. The Warriors improved to 6-4 in league play. Owen-Withee is starting to pull away at the top at 9-2.

Gilman’s zone defense gave Neillsville some early fits and the Pirates got 3s from Grunseth and Vick to claim a quick 8-4 lead. A basket by Joey Syryczuk put the Pirates up 13-12 and Vick tapped an offensive rebound back to Logan Halida, who buried a 3-pointer for a 16-14 lead.

But Neillsville’s Landon Rakestraw answered with a 3-pointer of his own, ending Gilman’s time in front. Tony Syryczuk did get a score off a Joey Syryczuk assist for the last score of the half, cutting Neillsville’s lead to 21-18.

Hoeser, though, started the second half, with a steal and kickout to Rakestraw for a 3 and Micah Ziebell added a 3pointer as Neillsville quickly got out to a 28-18 lead. Hoeser’s steal and slam dunk pushed the lead to 35-21 and a 3-pointer from Adam Hoeser and two more from Andrew Hoeser helped break the game wide open at 50-23 with eight minutes left.

Joey Syryczuk led the Pirates with 13 points. He added 11 rebounds and two assists. Pockat scored six points as did Tony Syryczuk, who also had 12 rebounds and four assists.

Grunseth, Vick and Halida finished with three points each. Halida had eight reounds and Grunseth had four. Vick had two assists. Ustianowski played briefly in the second half and got a free throw. Connor Nichols had two rebounds and two assists for the Pirates, who are 2-8 in conference play.

Zeibell added 13 points for the Warriors.