Lancers weather the storm
Peralta-Werns leads with 26
WEST ALLIS - Andres Peralta-Werns stood in the right corner during pregame warm-ups, shooting and shooting and shooting. No matter what he tried, he could not find the range. A puzzled look of concern spread across his face.
Little did he know, he’d miss only a couple more the rest of the day.
The senior drilled 9 of 12 shots, including 6 of 7 three-pointers, to lift Brookfield Central to a 74-66 victory over Milwaukee Vincent on Saturday at West Allis Central to earn a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state boys basketball tournament.
The top-seeded Lancers (24-2) never trailed and led by as many as 10 points thanks to an efficient offense that shot 56.8% (21 for 37), including 52.4% (11 for 21) from behind the arc.
Peralta-Werns led the way, scoring 26 points. Sophomore Gage Malensek added 20, including a 12-for-12 performance from the line, as the Lancers beat back every challenge the Vikings (18-6) threw at them.
Peralta-Werns recalled a game earlier in the season when he couldn’t make a shot in warm-ups. In that instance he let it carry over to the game.
“My dad said to me after the game to let all the frustration out in your warm-up; don’t let it come into your game,” Peralta-Werns said. “I just cleared my mind before the game and just thought, ‘I can shoot it and I will continue to shoot it.’ ”
He did just that, scoring 17 points in the first half and going 5 for 6 on three-pointers, leading the Lancers to a 35-28 lead at the break.
The Vikings blanketed Peralta-Werns after the half, but he scored off a put-back early. Still, the Vincent defense kept him under wraps, and the Vikings got within a point at 44-43 on a putback by Kobi LumdsenBarnes just outside the 10-minute mark.
The Lancers then showed their balance and toughness. Sam Rohde dropped in a huge three-pointer to push the lead back to four, and pairs of free throws by Malensek and Chris Post made it 51-45. PeraltaWerns got free for his only three-pointer of the half with 7:01 left to give the Lancers a 54-48 lead. After a driving layup by Malensek, PeraltaWerns dropped in two free throws to make it 5850 with 5:56 left.
“We made an adjustment, but he got going early so he already had a rhythm going,” Vincent coach Ravonte Dantzler said of Peralta-Werns. “Then, when we helped, their other guys got going. It was a great team effort.”
The Vikings never got closer than four the rest of the way as Central put on a clinic at the freethrow line. The Lancers made their first 20 free throws and finished 22 for 26. All four misses came in the last 29.9 seconds when the game already was secured.
Central coach Dan Wandrey lauded his team’s toughness and poise. The Lancers had just eight turnovers.
“Against a team that absolutely turned it up in intensity defensively,” Wandrey noted. “I don’t think people pay much attention, but Sam Rohde, who is a senior, was our starting point guard as a sophomore. We have three point guards on the court, and our other guys are really good with the ball.
“You need that. We knew they were going to come after us with a couple of different presses and be really aggressive on the ball. We knew we needed to be strong with the ball.”