Bad spurt sends Ozaukee home

A tight game for 18 minutes was broken open early in the second half, and the Ozaukee High School boys’ basketball team couldn’t recover in a Division 4 regional semifinal last Friday.

Living Word Lutheran beat the Warriors, 65-48, in Jackson.

It was a 17-1 run to start the second half that gave the Timberwolves separation they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Warriors said mistakes and missed opportunities were the difference.

“We had to finish with over 20 turnovers. I know in the first half we had six missed free throws,” coach Bob Domach said.

“It was just turnovers,” senior Chase Mills said. “We didn’t take care of the ball well enough. They got some momentum and we couldn’t bounce back. We played pretty good defense for the most part.”

“I think we just let off the gas in the beginning of the second half,” star junior Braydon Lowrance-Eischen said. “We were behind the whole rest of the game.”

Lowrance-Eischen scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-18 shooting, and he had 10 rebounds. Mills, Ozaukee’s other top player, had 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting and eight rebounds. CJ Dvorak, Dylan Budzisz and Nick Schubert each had four points. Mason Schroeder had four assists, three steals and two points.

The way the Warriors lost wasn’t unfamiliar.

“In a lot of our losses, there was a four, five-minute stretch when the other team just kinda got a lead and we had trouble scoring. We could never get over that hump,” Domach said.

Ozaukee finished 4-8 in the Big East Conference South and 12-14 overall, a marked improvement over last year’s 5-19 season.

“I think we exceeded expectations. I’m really proud of how we fought and stayed together, stayed connected,” Domach said.

“What the seniors gave us, especially how we finished last year, just how they kept the team connected and just their leadership. I’m really proud of them and really proud of our season.”

Seniors Mills, Schroeder and Budzisz played their final game.

“It’s meant everything. I really don’t know where I’d be without basketball,” Mills said about the program.

Another of Ozaukee’s highlights this season was Lowrance-Eischen eclipsing 1,000 points late in the season.

“It’s a big accomplishment. It wasn’t my focus on the season. I just wanted to get the team some wins and hopefully go far,” he said.

Lowrance-Eischen has one year left to move up the list of the school’s all-time scorers. Noah Miller, who graduated in 2021 and went on to play professional baseball, has the most points in school history with 1,574. Rebecca Schauer, a 2020 grad, is second with 1,497, followed by 2004 graduate Courtnie Paulus’ 1,483.