Storm defeat Bulldogs in thriller

By Josh Staloch

Sports Editor

PESHTIGO – The High boys Basketball team put a hard-fought win in the books after escaping Peshtigo with a 60-59 victory on Tuesday, Dec. 19 to remain perfect atop the Packerland Conference standings at 4-0 and 6-2 overall.

The Bulldogs came out hot in this one, jumping out to a 9-0 lead behind the sharp shooting of Dominik Baxter before Kewaunee’s Braxton Riha scored down low to get the Storm on the board.

Once the Storm scoring began, Peshtigo struggled to contain the onslaught and the visitors fast tracked a comeback. Thomas Stangel, who finished the contest with 30 points, brought Kewaunee to within a point at 17-16 with a turnaround jumper before giving his team its first lead of the game moments later by hitting a tough shot down low. Up next, a Bulldogs turnover resulted in a score at the other end for Kewaunee’s Avery Jerabek to make it 20-17. 

“We just made some simple adjustments,” said Storm head coach Matt Bosdeck. “Once we did, the boys took over like I figured they would.”

With an early defensive adjustment in hand, the Peshtigo long game dried up and the Storm steamed ahead to a 28-23 lead at the break.

Firing on all cylinders to begin the second half, Kewaunee went on a tear with Stangel scoring five unanswered points before Jerabek forced a Peshtigo turnover and went coact-to-coast for a bucket and an eight-point advantage at 36-28.

But the lead didn’t last the whole way, as Peshtigo clawed its way back into the contest, reclaiming the lead with a big momentum shift after a Kewaunee turnover resulted in a three-pointer for the home team at the other end to make it 44-43 Bulldogs.

From there, it was a back-and-forth battle until the end of the game. Down six points at 56-50, coach Bosdeck called a timeout and, once back on the court, his team began to chip away at the lead.

It came down to the final minute, with Stangel making good on a tough drive to the hoop to bring his team to within a point at 56-55 before finding Riha with a nice pass on Kewaunee’s next possession for the go-ahead score that pout them out front for good.

“The guys are playing really hard and that’s tough to coach,” Bosdeck said. “You either have that or you don’t. They have it. Now it’s just a matter of putting them in the best spot to succeed.”

Kewaunee takes care of Oconto

KEWAUNEE – The Kewaunee boys dealt Oconto its first loss of the season 64-57 on Thursday, Dec. 14 and, in doing so, moved into a two-way tie for first place in the loop with Southern Door.

The Storm battled their way back from a 28-21 halftime deficit to outscore their opponents 43-29 in the second half to get the win.

Thomas Stangel led the well-rounded Storm offense with 16 points, followed closely by Connor Kilgore and Christopher Cullen, each with 14 to go along with 12 from Braxton Riha.

Wolves defeated by Eagles

BRUSSELS – The Algoma boys couldn’t keep pace with Southern Door on a historic night for the Eagles as junior guard Drew Daust poured in a game-high 29 points and became the all-time leader in Door County boys basketball history.

For the Wolves, now 4-3 overall, 3-2 in Packerland Conference play, Cody Kirchman and Chase Romdenne each had 17 points while Parker Lischka scored 13 and Grant Vandervest 11.

Algoma victorious over Sevastopol

ALGOMA – The Wolves are at 4-2 for the year overall after beating the Pioneers 54-40 in Packerland Conference action on Thursday, Dec. 14.

Parker Lischka had a big night for the Wolves, leading all scorers with 24 points while pulling down five boards and recording three assists, four steals and a block.

Cody Kirchman turned in 12 points, six boards and three steals.