Pewaukee gets upper hand on rival
With a young team that has doesn't have a senior among its top four scorers, Pewaukee has shown it can give a scare to some of the state's best teams.
Friday, the Pirates took the next step and put one away.
That was one of the takeaways from the team's 72-55 victory over visiting Wisconsin Lutheran. Unlike a Dec. 23 loss to Kimberly in which Pewaukee led by 14 at the half or a loss to Wauwatosa East last Saturday in which the the team led by nine at the break, the Pirates dominated Lutheran in the second half in a showdown of the final undefeated teams in the Woodland West.
“Our defense led us off right away (in the second half) and we got some stops, which allowed us to feel comfortable” Pewaukee coach David Burkemper said. “Once you get some stops with the skill we have, the basket opens up.”
The win, which improved the Pirates to 12-2 overall and 7-0 in the division, also displayed the Pirates' balance.
Milan Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, is the team's leading scorer but Friday he finished with nine points. Instead it was 6-3 freshman guard Nick Janowski, who had a career-high 19 points. Josh Terrian, a junior guard, added 18 points and junior Ashton Janowski, Nick's brother, finished with 16.
Nick Janowski beat his previous scoring high of 16 points in the first half to help the Pirates dig out of a 10-2 deficit.
“He's been around the program and he kind of fits in seamlessly,” Burkemper said. “He's a kid that has no fear on the basketball court.”
Give Lutheran time
It was good to see Wisconsin Lutheran's Jordan Glenn on bench supporting his team Friday night. The junior needed to be revived after collapsing during a game at Menomonee Falls last Saturday.
Vikings coach Ryan Walz didn't use the loss of Glenn as an excuse, but Glenn was a key contributor for the team. A starter, he ranked third on the team in scoring with 11.7 points and was one of the players on the team who also played a lot last season.
“Any time you lose a starter there is going to be a period of time where you have to adjust,” Walz said. “But we've got good players off the bench and guys we rotate into the game, so we didn't feel like that would be an excuse for us tonight.
“We thought we had a good enough game plan, we thought we had the right kids in the game and they just out-played us tonight.”
A race in the Classic 8
Catholic Memorial scored the big win of the week in the Classic 8 with its victory Friday over Waukesha West, which was previously undefeated in the conference. The biggest winners, however, are Kettle Moraine and Arrowhead.
Now they're within striking distance.
The two entered play two games out of first place and ended the night with hope. Both are just one game back with one game each left with West.
One to grow from
Speaking of the Crusaders, the win over West represented a significant step for a team that has been close to getting a signature win a few times this season.
Led by sophomores Bennett McCormick and Braden McGlothlin, who combined to average 28 points per game, Memorial is 6-10 overall and 3-6 in the Classic 8. The Crusaders lost to undefeated Racine St. Catherine's by four points on Dec. 9 and suffered its league losses by an average of six points.
Falcons in good position
While Waukesha West and Wauwatosa East suffered losses in the past week, Westosha Central defeated Badger on Tuesday. That win coupled with Burlington's lost to Wilmot on Friday made Central the only area team with a two-game lead in the loss column in its conference standings.